


REUNION

by ChildOfSolace



Series: Mana [1]
Category: Original Work, Surface R
Genre: Dystopian, F/M, M/M, Magic, Mana - Freeform, Slow Burn, underground city
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 17:23:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 103,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19381312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildOfSolace/pseuds/ChildOfSolace
Summary: Dystopian.There was no choice but to accept it. Live and let die; when the government finally made that decree that no outsiders are permitted to be let in, it was easy to accept it.After all, that decree didn't really mean anything to the few who survived the onslaught of disasters, since they were safe within the city, far from the surface, underground.At least... That's how it was.





	1. Notes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NympheSama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NympheSama/gifts).



**SURFACE R TRILOGY OFFICIAL GUIDE**

**TIME GAP GUIDE**  
(to be updated periodically)

 **YEAR 00-30 onwards  
**Secret development of underground cities. Improvement of the cities in succeeding years. Normal times.

 **YEAR 47  
**Death of Thomas and Kytes's parents. Their Uncle takes them in, since he manages a daycare where Thomas and Kytes meet Trey and Nina.

 **YEAR 48  
**Death of Luke and Sean's father. They are taken into custody by the Research company of Mr. Spring. Luke is later unwittingly being prepared to handle a high-tech machine.

 **YEAR 50  
**The Radioactive downpour. Immediate evacuation of survivors to the cities. Sean is put into maintainer training. Mrs. Morrison dies.

 **YEAR 52  
**First Release of Disabled and Orphans. Mrs. Spring dies giving birth to Cody.

 **YEAR 53  
**Meeko and Lori's parents died. Trey and Nina's Parents died. One year allowance for a chance in adoption.

 **YEAR 54  
**Nina gets sick. Kytes takes her place. Sean's memories are tampered with. Luke's whereabouts is unknown. Cody is the only Spring to be Released. Trey and Kytes with Meeko, Lori, Rhys, Corrin, Alexis and Cody are sent to the surface. They developed unique abilities.

 **YEAR 62  
**Story begins.

**LEVEL GUIDE**

**Ground level**  
Surface R

 **Level 01**  
Data gathering stations for researches and old residence cells. Ordinary prison cells. Temporary Orphanages. Considered  _slums_  bunkers to the Poor class.

 **Level 02 to 30**  
Residence cells for Middle-class.

 **Level 31 to 35**    
Commerce centers, radio stations, business establishments. There are movie halls.

 **Level 35 to 49**    
Residence cells for Elites and Government officials.

 **Level 50**    
Top secret research facilities. Dungeons.

**BATCH LEADERS AND THEIR SECOND-IN-COMMANDS**

**GENESIS BATCH:  **  **Trent "Trey" Everhart and Rhysell "Rhys"**   **Gildean**

 **Batch one:  **  **Raymond "Ray" Ronald and Eliot White**  
**Batch two:  **  **Bryce Jefferson and**   **Dillan**   **Sprouse**  
**Batch three:  ** **Leroy "Lee" Davis and Javier Rodriguez**  
**Batch four:  **  **Jennifer "Jenny" Smith and Marah Miller**  
**Batch five:  **  **Maximus**   **"Max" Conner and John Conner**  
**Batch six:  ** **Phoebe Grant and Paige Grant**  
**Batch seven:  **  **Samuel "Sam" Rogers and Creighton "Cray" Parker**  
**Batch eight:  ** **Thomas "Tom" Stone and Mitchell "Mitch" Bennett**  
  
**Batch Wanderers:  **  **Leonidas "Leon" Haynes and Johannes "Jonah" Dowling**

**Character Guide  
** ****(Power guides find it[ here](https://www.pinterest.com/KatsuKatsuDon/words/))** **

**Name (Age, Hair color, eye color) - Ability - Batch**

**Trey Everhart  **  
**age: 18**  
**appearance: Brunette, brown eyes**  
**Ability: Pyrokinesis**  
**can produce fire from an parts of his body, skin is fireproof but inhalation of smoke would still be troublesome for him.**  
**Batch: Genesis**

 **Nina Everhart   **  
**age: 13**  
**appearance: Brunette, brown eyes**  
**Ability: none**  
**Batch: Eight**

 **Rhysell Gildean   **  
**age: 17**  
**apearance: Bronze, red eyes**  
**Ability: Electrokinesis**  
**can conjure up energy; electricity, lightning. He can power-up technology as long as he keeps contact with them, and it helps him figure out how to repair them eventually.**  
**Batch: Genesis**

 **Corrin Cole  **  
**age: 18**  
**appearance: Slate, gray eyes**  
**Ability: Physiological regeneration/degradation**  
**He can heal bodily injuries, and internal ailments to an extent, but not without limitations.**  
**Batch: Genesis**

 **Alexis Cole  **  
**age: 16**  
**appearance:  Ebony, gray eyes**  
**Ability: Enhanced Focal Tracking**  
**she has the highest sensitivity and track down any moving organism, it's even more heightened if she is already familiar with the thing she is tracking.**  
**Batch: Genesis**

 **Meeko Morrison  **  
**age: 17**  
**appearance: Ginger, yellow eyes**  
**Ability: Duplication**  
**he can produce clones of himself, and think of a single task in mind he has for them. When the task is done, the clone disappears and he is able to share the same experience from them.**  
**Batch: Genesis**

 **Lori Morrison  **  
**age: 17**  
**appearance: Ginger, yellow eyes**  
**Ability: Intangibility**  
**he can go through objects, living and non-living, but difficulty varies depending on the object; possible chance it can be shared with others.**  
**Batch: Genesis**

 **Kytes Stone  **  
**age: 14**  
**appearance: Honey blond, baby blue eyes**  
**Ability: Nature manipulation**  
**he can speed up the growth process of any vegetation, and communicate with other nature-related organisms.**  
**Batch: Genesis**

 **Thomas Stone   **  
**age: 18**  
**appearance: Tawny, cobalt blue**  
**Ability: none**  
**Batch: Eight**

 **Cody Spring   **  
**age: 10**  
**appearance: Bluenette, blue eyes**  
**Abilities: Telekinesis and concrete illusionist**  
**he can make objects move with his mind, and produce illusions that are tangible for a given amount of time, or as long as he can maintain focus.**  
**Batch: Genesis**

 **Sean Spring   **  
**age: 16**  
**appearance: Bluenette, blue eyes**  
**Ability: Technopath**  
**he can control any type of mechanism, as well as repair any mass object instantaneously.**  
**Batch: Eight**

 **Leonidas Haynes   **  
**age: 20**  
**appearance: Green hair with blond ends, blue eyes**  
**Ability: Aerokinesis**  
**he can harness the wind; this helps him fly, and create anti-gravitational forces to his advantage**  
**Batch: Wanderers**

 **Johaness Dowling  **  
**age: 20**  
**appearance:Green hair, green eyes**  
**Ability: Umbrakinesis**  
**can manipulate and control shadows and darkness; He can also use shadows as a form of transportation.**  
**Batch: Wanderers**

 **Jack Carter  **  
**age: 9**  
**appearance: Deep brown hair, brown eyes**  
**Ability: none**  
**Batch: Three**

 **Bryce Jefferson  **  
**age: 17**  
**appearance: Caramel, blue eyes**  
**Ability: Combat foresight**  
**can perfectly recall past combat experiences, as well as pattern and styles, to use it predict his opponent's next move and outmaneuver or counter them.**  
**Batch: Two**

 **Dillan Sprouse   **  
**age: 17**  
**appearance: Amber, black eyes**  
**Ability: Enhanced Intuition**  
**he can tell if someone's lying, as well as figure out if there is any ulterior motives by observing their aura and such.**  
**Batch: Two**

 **Kiriho Sakamoto   **  
**age: 15**  
**appearance: Ravenette, black eyes**  
**Ability: Hyper speed and Toxin tracer**  
**Self-explanatory.**  
**Batch: Wanderers**

 ** Raymond Brookes  **  
**age: 15**  
**appearance: Brunette, brown eyes**  
**Ability: Fire Breath**  
**Similar to pyrokinesis, he can produce fire by igniting the carbon dioxide he exhales.**  
**Batch: One**

 ** Eliot White **  
**age: 15**  
**appearance: Blond, Green eyes**  
**Ability: Water Mimicry**  
**transformation his body into liquid water**  
**Batch: One**

 **Leroy Davis   **  
**age: 14**  
**appearance: Copper, yellow eyes**  
**Ability: Embrittlement**  
**he can cause whatever he touches to deconstruct itself.**  
**Batch: Three**

 **Javier Rodriguez  **  
**age: 14**  
**appearance: Brunette, brown eyes**  
**Ability: Tracking sense**  
**Similar to Lexie's skill, but distance is limited.**  
**Batch: Three**

 **Jennifer Smith   **  
**age: 16**  
**appearance: Wild red, violet eyes**  
**Ability: Sensory Nullification**  
**She can numb the sensation of the person she is in contact with.**  
**Batch: Four**

 **Marah Miller   **  
**age: 16**  
**appearance: Ash brown, black eyes**  
**Ability: Temporal Golem summoner**  
**Self-explanatory.**  
**Batch: Four**

 **Maximus Conner   **  
**age: 18**  
**appearance: Crimson, green eyes**  
**Ability: Pyro forcefield**  
**Similar to Trey's ability, only that he can use it defensively, creating a barrier or shield of fire.**  
**Batch: Five**

 **John Conner   **  
**age: 16**  
**appearance: Strawberry blond, blue eyes**  
**Ability: Hydrokinesis**  
**Control and manipulate liquid water and mold it into any desired shape or form.**  
**Batch: Five**

 **Phoebe Grant   **  
**age: 17**  
**appearance: Brunette, black eyes**  
**Ability: Foreseer**  
**She can see the future, but never on any desire time that she wishes to know. Sometimes, it will depend on the decisions she knows of.**  
**Batch: Six**

 **Paige Grant   **  
**age: 15**  
**appearance: Brunette , black eyes**  
**Ability:  Nocturnal vision**  
**She can see in the dark.**  
**Batch: Six**

 **Nadine Madison  **  
**age: 16**  
**appearance:  Burgundy, brown eyes**  
**Ability:  Audiokinesis**  
**She can manipulate sounds waves, frequency, and its intensity.**  
**Batch: Ten**

 **Samuel Rogers  **  
**age: 10**  
**appearance: Mahogany, blue eyes**  
**Ability: None**  
**Batch: Seven**

 **Creighton Parker  **  
**age: 9**  
**appearance: Chestnut, black eyes**  
**Ability: Object mimicry**  
**He can create any object, it's more effective if he's replicating an existing object and not simply referring to pictures or imagination.**  
**Batch: Seven**

 **Mitchell Bennett   **  
**age: 17**  
**appearance: Ravenette, brown eyes**  
**Ability: none**  
**Batch: Eight**

 **Milo Bennett   **  
**age: 9**  
**appearance: Ravenette, black eyes**  
**Ability: none**  
**Batch: Eight**

 **Mickey Bennett  **  
**age: 9**  
**appearance: Ravenette, black eyes**  
**Ability: none**  
**Batch: Eight**

 **Lindsay Caghan   **  
**age: 16**  
**appearance: Violet hair, green eyes**  
**Ability: none**  
**Batch: Eight**

 **Roland Caghan   **  
**age: 55**  
**appearance:  graying Salt and pepper hair [originally brown], green eyes)**  
**Ability: none**  
**Batch: Eight**

** TERMS **

**M** **.E** **.D** **.**  - Mana Energy Device

 **Rabid** \- Radiation Affected Bestial Intellectual Defects


	2. Introduction

**INTRODUCTION**

> _**In the first year, thinking about it now, it was probably already starting then. There was no disaster, but I think it had been hinting on something, about an end that was to come. It was completely dark that night, we thought it was just some kind of an eclipse. But this one was a little strange. It was eerily quiet. I was scared. My baby sister was scared. Hell, my parents were scared. But then, they said it would be okay.** _
> 
> _**Like always, for every single day of our life, the sun would come up again, shine upon Gaea, and things will go back to normal.** _
> 
> _**Was I ever wrong.** _
> 
> _**You know what they say, right? Don't look at an eclipse straight in the eye. It could ruin your eyes? Well, when the sun came, it was so much worse. Anyone who walked out was burned... No, incinerated. Just like that, stepping outside and they spontaneously combust on the spot. The world thought it was just some new phenomenon. Scientists were trying to figure out why it happened. It took a whole year, but nothing came up for their trouble.** _
> 
> _**Then six more years followed, each one bringing forth a different kind of terror. The weather was unpredictable; countries that never experienced snow suddenly started experiencing hailstorms, leading up to terrible geo-storms. Insects invaded farms and destroyed their produce. Wildlife got infected with some unknown substance until them finally became creatures that look more like monsters we read only ever read about in stories, or watch about it movies.** _
> 
> _**And that was just the beginning of where everything went completely wrong...** _

_**/Trent Everhart/.Transmission over.//Year 70/** _

Once, people flourished and made a living above land. The resources were abundant. But then again, so were the humans who needed them.

Soon, 'Natural' lost its meaning, ' _Artificial_ ' replaced it. Machinery operations ran the daily lives of people, flowers and plants were faked serving as decorations, tall buildings took the place of tall trees in rain forests. Most factors considered natural can only be seen through microscopes.

But nature took its own course and returned with vengeance. Cosmic debris crash landed from above, causing an explosion that plagued the entire planet. It polluted the atmosphere and strange side effects started revealing themselves. Animals and vegetations alike were most susceptible to these changes. They attacked humans, nearly wiping out the entire species. Unable to thoroughly explain how this happened, scientists, without sufficient evidence, wrote it off as radioactive particles causing severe chemical changes to earth's living inhabitants.

But humans were smart, they were animals in their own way. They strive for survival.

Using the historical underground city of  _Derinkuyu_ as a reference they created a modernized type and with their latest state of the art technology they expanded it even further from two hundred feet to one thousand feet. For this purpose, unbeknown to the public, a life under the surface of the Earth was being prepared for them. Unlike the  _Derinkuyu_ however, they had the materials and technology to have metallic interiors and bunker units for dwelling. A large, nine hundred meter metallic ventilation shaft was constructed, filtering the carbon from above to be breathable oxygen air. The shaft also provided water to both the villagers above and, if the outside world was not accessible, to those in hiding.

Eventually, anyone not affected by the atmosphere were evacuated to underground cities right before the atmosphere could become too unpredictable and prove hazardous to their lives. A new system of governance was created. Since the underground cities in all part of the world were interconnected one way or another, they all decided to use a unified language starting then. ' _Councillors_ ' is the term referred to leaders chosen in each division, the word country becoming obsolete.

Guards who were obligated to inspect the surface level regularly were given Hi-tech contamination suits with advanced, state-of-the-art filters as to not be be affected by the atmosphere since anyone exposed to the atmosphere is banned from re-entering the cities. Some people died due to open wounds exposed to the atmosphere's strange particles.

Soon, humans engaged in a new form of living, but not without encountering troubles along the way.

The fear of being unable to distribute provisions without having shortages became prominent. This led the Councilors to convene altogether and come up with a radical solution. They decided to send back to the surface anyone they classify as worthless or a liability. More than a thousand orphaned, disabled, and jobless individuals were sent back up on the first release. It did not really matter to them if they survived or not, it was inconsequential as long as their survival was assured. In the years that followed, this became a normal routine. With the initial liabilities released, all the present releases were orphaned children. Then again, as one hero once stated in the History of the Surface,  _"The Youth is the hope of the nation",_  there came a generation of hope.

It was not planned, it wasn't an intention. It just  _happened._

Of the first batch of releases that only involved orphans, only eight had survived the harsh environment of the regressed and primitive state that the surface had been reduced to. Together, they survived and now thrive to make a living once more above ground, as humans were really meant to be.

Still, the Underground city was not to be ignored. And perhaps, it is to be reminded, who the true enemy really is.


	3. Part 01.1 TREY

**[ARC ONE: REUNION]**

**::TREY::**

The forest is quiet.

That's your first clue. Even on the surface, even given that most of the Earth's living creatures got wiped out within weeks of it happening, things should never be  _This_ quiet. 

You'll never know; something dangerous could be trying to hide itself.

"I think this is where I found it."

I give a jolt when Lexie spoke behind me. I completely forgot she was there. With the silence, it was easy to think I was alone. "Keep your voice down," I whisper. "we don't know what might be out there."

"Trey," Kytes whispers back. "wouldn't it be better to just use telepathy? We wouldn't be making any sound."

I sigh, "Kyi that would be using our signature and if there is any bad Mana around here, that would set things off, like an open flame to gas leaks." I rub my forehead. "C'mon, we've been over this a thousand times. You're lucky it's not Rhys reminding you."

Kytes scratches his head. "Oh, yeah..."

"Been here for eight years, you would think you'd have that memorized by now." Lexie teases playfully. "It's survival 101."

 _Oh really?_ I think sarcastically.  _Like she's one to talk about survival 101. Half the time,_ _Corrin's_ _the ones reminding her of our protocols..._

Kytes looks a little sheepish. "People can be forgetful, it happens..."

"Okay, shut it already you two." They weren't really making any real noise, but I knew Lexie's tendencies and once you got her talking, it might be harder to get her to stop. "Kytes's idea was good just too bad for that small detail. Now we should keep quiet." Like I was making any noise, though. "Let's get a move on, keep alert for anything that doesn't feel right."

"Heh, I forgot how uptight Trey can be..."

I huff in irritation but chose not to respond. She calls it being uptight, I call it instinct. It was very important after all, especially in terms of surviving the surface's unpredictability. We, the ones left, have gotten pretty good in relying on instincts. It's about the only warning you get up here.

The forest is very unusual even if it looks like any other forest. For one thing, I'm not even sure it can be called a forest, at least not a natural one, given that it's growing in the middle of what used to be a town. The road is cracked by numerous roots, and most of the buildings have trees growing out of them. Their walls could be hiding any number of things. The forest itself is the oddest thing. Many years ago, this was a thriving metropolis, full of people, tourists, machines—now it's home to trees that look like they've been there a good fifty years at least. This is one of the most immediate changes caused by the strange atmosphere when the phenomenon had first spread out through the entire globe. The landscape got warped beyond all recognition in the early days. That's why so many people died...

Like mom and dad.

"Oh!" Lexie cries and stops in her tracks.

I turn towards her. "Shh!" I snap. "Alexis, jeez."

"But Trey, this is where I found it. Only..."

Kytes scans the area. "Well, it's not here now."

"Quiet, the creature that pissed might still be around." I face Lexie. "And you're sure the piss was the non-absorbent type?"

We have to watch where or what we step into. Because if, for instance, you got an open wound and you stepped into a puddle with urine in it and that wound happens to get infected as well then it could mean something really bad. The Rabid animals up here are so messed up that even a slight contact with their shit may turn fatal for us. Luckily, only the Rabid Animals have urinal waste that have a touch of color so it's easy to figure which ones are the non-absorbent type. We try to get rid of those because prevention was better than cure.

"Well, it was a pool on the ground, all purpley and molted. I watched it for a while, it didn't seem like it was going away." Lexie combs strands of black hair away from her face. "So I thought..."

Kytes shrugs. "It's either something else absorbed it, or it really was absorbent after all and just needed more time to soak in."

"Maybe. So then, should we just—EWW, GROSS!"

"What is it—OH YUCK!"

I swat them both to remind them to be quiet and made a mental note to give them extra kitchen clean up duty. Really, do they want a death wish?

"It's just a skeleton—" an animal's. We don't see human skeletons since the earlier days, when we made it a point to try and bury the ones we still could out of respect. "you've seen them before."

"I know—but they're usually not  _THAT_ fresh." Lexie frowns.

I have to agree, it's isn't the prettiest thing I've seen. Even the other skeletons weren't as bad. It looked like someone's halfway eaten meal...

Wait.

"Quiet. See if you can hear anything."

Lexie leans back against a tree, Kytes crouches by a bush with me, and we stay still as possible listening out for anything unusual. I know there's something not right here. No animal noises, no birds. Then there's that heavy oppressive silence as though we're being watched very closely. A light breeze blows my fringe into my eyes and I bat it out of the way, frowning. The feeling something being wrong is stronger than ever.

Wait.

The breeze.

It should have rustled the leaves on the trees too. Yet there was no noise. I look up at the tree tops. They're perfectly still. Even as another breeze stirs the forest. Why would that be? Unless the trees are watching us?

I look around the Clearing.

Now that I think about it, the trees do seem slightly closed together than they were. As I watch, an oak sends a root trailing over! What could they be doing?

Unless... The Skeleton.

"RUN!" I grab Kytes and haul him after me, jumping over the oak root and out of the circle of trees.

"Woah now! Trey—what?"

Kytes doesn't have to finish his sentence. A large branch is suddenly in front of us and I'm unable to stop from tripping over it. A root winds itself around my ankle. Kytes is now full aware of the attack as more follow, breaking the surface of the ground to wrap themselves around us.

"I thought they only moved that fast with time lapse photography!"

Kytes takes his survival knife out. "I think this is a bit more serious than time lapse photography!"

Before I could bring out my own Cutlass, some vines grab hold of my forearm. The blond slashes off with precision he mastered, perfectly avoiding cutting my flesh. Lexie wields her double-edged  _Naginata_ to cut off vines stretching down from above. I'm still amazed how a girl like her who used to whine about missing cosmetics and other pointless stuff is now so skilled in combat. I think Lexie's weapon type came from some Asian country. I forgot which one. Actually, I even forgot what our own country was called. It seemed like such a long time ago that we used the term  _country._

I am once again forever grateful of Rhys's brilliant mind. Back then, we could count the weapons we had available to us with two hands. But once we got older, or more to the point, when Rhys got older and smarter, he made used of some books he found to create bladed weapons once we found a steel forging factory. And he had enough books to show him how to forge weapons of different origins. He taught us how to make our own, but most of the time they were poor attempts compared to what Rhys can craft. Now any weapons we need for ourselves and those who keeps coming can be easily accessed and made... Well, maybe not  _easily_ made since they still required a lot of effort, but at least we don't have to keep scavenging for usable weapons now. Sure, we could use all those guns and ammunition we got in storage, but we all agreed to save those for a time we might really need to them. Besides, at least with bladed weapons, there's no worries for a shortage of ammunition.

"Kytes, Trey! Do something, they keep coming!"

Kytes slashes his knife to an incoming vine before jumping back. "Uh, and you don't call what we're doing  _something_?" He jumps over a root.

"Less talking, more attacking!" I snap, finishing off the hostile roots at my side and rush to aid Lexie. I make it in time to keep a giant flower bud from chomping her head clean off, barely missing the launch of purple goo it spat out. "Wah?!" I yelp, twirling my head around for a double take, seeing the goo boil through a bush as if it were acid or something, which explained the skeleton. "Okay. Rabid Vegetation's Gastric acid. Just as bad as a Rabid Animal's piss."

Lexie grunts, using her weapon as leverage to get up. "Noted. Next time, try saving my skin  _without_ pushing me. I twisted my ankle."

Okay, that was my bad. But it was that or being plant feed. At least she didn't break skin and bleed. Although uncertain, Corrin says fatality is possible if open wounds were exposed to loose Mana energy for more than ten minutes, and I forgot to make sure that we brought bandages with us. That's one strike of careless act for the day. I try to keep that to a minimum, the maximum being three. As the Leader, being extra cautious is an expectation.

"Trey! Help me out here!"

I spin around and saw vines lifting Kytes up, his knife lay useless on the ground. I rush towards him.

By duty, I was responsible for everyone up here as their leader.

As a friend, I was responsible for the blond, I was indebted to him.

When my sister was sick on the day we were going to be released to the surface, he took her place. I also owe it to his older brother, my best friend, who was now taking care of her back in the Underground city.

The vines were so thick that I couldn't slice through it with my Cutlass. I had to use the  _other_  way, but how can I with Kytes still in its clutches? A vine grips around my arm and I wince in pain as it tightens on my radius.

"TREY!"

Before I was fully aware of it there was fire flooding all my senses. I lashed out in rage, only vaguely aware of the beeping on my wrist that reminds me to take it easy. The vines holding up Kytes fall away in front of me. Luckily, the blond looked unharmed.

"Get out of the way!"

Thankfully, Kytes seemed to get what was about to happen. He grabs his knife and rolls out of the way. Good, I did not want to be misunderstood now. The two did not take their eyes off me as they back away. I concentrate where I want to have the flames to burst out and the results were no less effective. The Vegetable mutations draws back, leaving us unscathed except for Lexie's twisted ankle, which Corrin can heal no problem. I concentrate on pulling my power back. I look at the device fashioned like a watch that was strapped on my wrist, indicating my energy's exertion level. I see that it's stable and I join the two out of the clearing. Kytes helps her up and supports her weight.

"Code Red?"

I sigh, nodding. "Yes. We had far too many incidents this week alone, this being the twelfth. It's about that time again," It was a little frustrating. Rhys just got a filter working so we could fill a pool with clean water. I guess we have to make the most of it while we're still here. "I don't want anyone hunting till we move. We still have meat stocked so it's not like we have to settle for the vegetables and fruits in Kytes's gardens."

"Hey," The blond scowls. "My produce aren't that bad... are they?"

I smirk. "No Kytes, but if there's a chance to have meat, we want to have some too." I pat his back. "Let's head back."

"Oh, but Trey—" Lexie's eyes rolls up a bit. It signals her using her tracking ability. She's like a built-in GPS system with that. I don't really get it, but she can sense another person's or thing's Mana and Rhys has a theory that the ones who use Mana in their own way also has a unique trademark, like a fingerprint _,_ so to speak. It was a bit unnerving the first time she used it since all you see were her cornea, but if you knew her as long as we have, you get used to it. "—yeah, I sense three guys out hunting nearby already."

I roll my eyes, "Three," I mutter knowingly, and the two share similar looks. "the only one who can get away with not following the group count rule is Meeko, and only if he has Lori and one other person watching his back."

Back then, with the whole idea of ' _The rule of three_ ' and it being an optimal number, maybe it would've made sense. But when playing video games and I would choose Party members, to challenge myself, I would pick three only; the MC would still get enough experience points and two characters would be enough to support him in battle. But this isn't a video game with a restart button. Normally when we send out groups for hunts, Five was the permitted number. It's too dangerous any less. Meeko can get away with it since his ability was multiplying himself. Usually, Meeko did most of the work to get it out of his system, being one of those always hyped-up types. Granted, he is one of our best hunters which we would all acknowledge often if he wasn't so rash and impulsive at times. This brings me to his better half, or more reasonable twin brother, Lori who normally didn't like fighting. Unless something or someone he cares for is in danger, he can be provoked to act though.

In our case, well, I thought the three of us would be enough for the Urinal extraction since we weren't really expecting a fight since this wasn't a hunt for food and we are still pretty much near the base, but I guess I didn't account for the fact that trouble would be the one hunting us. Even two persons used to be enough for extractions, but perhaps I neglected to take into consideration the level of experience. Previously, those two persons doing extractions had been either Rhys and myself or Leon and Jonah, the latter pair being eldest of our entire group. I only grabbed Kytes and Lexie this time because they were immediately available, and while I did not question their experience, Kytes was more adept to scouting, and that entailed evasive action, staying in a place only long enough to check its safety and avoiding combat as much as possible. Lexie was used to scavenging, which was gathering any useful items or materials after scouts deemed an area clear for occupying or searching. These two haven't seen combat as often as I have.

Damn, that's a second strike for me. "Where are they exactly?"

"A bit Northeast you'd get to that river, follow it downstream you'll make it to a clearing passed some thicket of bushes. Berry bushes, to be exact, not the good kind. They're at a glade of sorts..." Lexie smirks. "Well, at least the two not going crazy are. But I sense the third more crazier one of them is nearby."

Kytes laughs. "Just make it easier and call him who it most probably is. Even I can figure it's Meeko." he says.

"Okay, you two head back. I'll go fetch them. Kyi, after you take Lexie to the infirmary, go tell Rhys to prepare putting up some warning signs." I instruct. "Suggest Code 3."  _Carnivorous vegetation._

The blond nods. "Code 3, got it." He lifts Lexie, positioning her on his back in a way that can make him run faster. He takes off and I'm fairly impressed. He's fourteen carrying a sixteen year old while managing a running pace. I guess years of training does that. 

I sheath my Cutlass and took off myself.


	4. Part 01.2 THOMAS

**::THOMAS::**

"What do you think sunlight feels like?"

I look up and see Nina coming through the right hand tunnel entrance, not even saying hello first. That usually means she was deep in thought on her way here again.

"I really don't remember." I tell her, setting down the book I'd been pretending to read.

It was something about the new things they expected to be able to do with machines. I didn't really have a reason to be fond of those stupid things. It's not exactly a picnic, depending on the machines for everyday living. It'd be awfully hard to breathe underground without them, for one thing. And—insert sarcastic tone here—how on earth would ordinary people survive without fucking  _reading lights._ Seriously, with the number of issues that needs addressing, they give us extra lighting in bunkers, of all things?

Personally, I'd rather take my chances with whatever's up there on ground level. If Trey, Kytes, and the others survived...

That's kinda the thing, though. After all these years, I have no way of knowing if they  _DID_ survive or  _WHAT_ they survived as. The atmosphere was said to do awfully strange things to ordinary people. I miss my little brother, though. And I hope Trey was doing okay, too. He was my best friend growing up after all.

"Do you?"

Nina clicks on the kitchen lamp. It's pretty cramped up in our compartment bunker, so she'd probably do fine with the little reading light I'm using but she looks at it for a moment and sighed. "It's been too long," she says. "I wonder if they even still have sunlight up there. You know, considering all that's happened."

"Oh, they probably do."

I click off the reading light. No need to be careless with the energy we had. No matter how much they wanted us to believe the machines supplied boundless electricity. I couldn't, not with the reason they sent away Kytes and Trey with a whole bunch of other orphans being the worry for lack of resources. Not with Nina working there everyday. We depended on qualified individuals now for our energy supply. As in, people. Humans, to produce energy, if that makes sense as if they were hamsters running repeatedly in wheels for a Science project. It makes me feel queasy just thinking about it. I don't know how Nina can let them. She's a lot braver than I could be, that's for sure. Maybe a lot more reckless, too. Well, Trey was her brother.

_He rubbed off on her..._

Then again, I haven't even seen the guy the last eight years, so how would I know that? Nina was all I really had left in memory of him and my own brother. You died younger down here than you would when people lived above when it was still up there. Both Nina's parents are gone, mine died in a fire accident years before the radiation up there first hit. My Uncle, who made it possible for me and my brother to still live here whenever they had to send out orphans, died a year after I turned thirteen. Then, in one Release before I turned thirteen, my brother opted to take Nina's place instead because she's been sick that time and she wouldn't have lasted an hour up there even with Trey's help, who had just been ten then. But I never held it against Trey or resent Nina. We knew each other even before all this, Trey was my best friend just as long as Nina was Kytes's. And I would've done the same if it had been Trey.

Although, I laugh at the idea of Kytes staying down here with him. It might be him who had to watch over the damn lummox.

Now with Nina's parents gone and my Uncle passing away, I was old enough to stand as her guardian until she turned thirteen herself next week. Not that it mattered cause she won't be moving out and I'm not kicking her out either. But on the event I died after her birthday, she wouldn't have to be sent away. So now we shared a cramped compartment on a fairly low level, which was good. The lower you are, the farther you are from the dangers of Ground level.

Level 01 had some data gathering stations for researches and old residence cells. They were Orphanages every now and then, until those who weren't adopted were sent out anyway, the cells were used for residence bunkers to the Poor class.

Level 02 to 30 had the residence cells according to social status of the Middle-class. Point blunt.

Level 31 to 35 had the commerce centers, radio stations and whatever establishments that had existed back and is possible to continue down here. There are movie halls, too, but obviously no one makes movies anymore. We watched the films that was brought down here with us during the evacuation. Before I thought it was pretty cool, now I think of how stupid it is. Of all the other important things they could have brought down, they settled for movies. Anyway, those levels are what you can consider the central city, if you can call it that since there are hardly any Skyscrapers anymore. Not that they would've fit down here, anyway.

Level 35 to 49 have residence cells for Elites and Government officials, the Councillors and the Techs with their family, if any. Since Nina is a Machine tech, we are  _privileged_ to be in Level 35.

The  _better_  people, the Councillors, get Level 37 to 49 according to importance of Office.

I don't really know what Level 50 holds, which is the lowest of the low. But some rumors I heard assumes it's a laboratory of sorts. Still, while we have it good as much as we could down here, I wonder about life in the surface.

"What makes you think so?" Nina snaps me back to reality. That perceptive brown-eyed gaze on me, a startling sense of knowing. "For all we know, it's getting worse up there. There's no way of knowing."

I snort. "No one bothers to check. Even if they did, there's no report.  _For all we know_ ," I mimick her tone. "everything's back to normal, like in the Disney movie with the Garbage Robot going to outer space. We'd never know it, down here. They think we've got everything but it's all stupid..."

"Thomas," she studies me for a moment. "Are you still planning to go up there?"

"Soon."

I say the same thing everyday, but when have I ever acted on my words? I'm caught in a cycle just like every other moron in this stupid Underground settlement. And I know I'm still afraid to see how much things changed up there even as I'm dying to know at the same time.

"I want to see my brother," I continue. "How he and Trey are doing... If they're still alive, that is."

"Do you think they're still alive?" Nina asks, as if we don't talk about this everyday. Like she expects a different answer or something. It's been years and she still asks. "Well, do you?"

I can't give it to her though, "I don't know, maybe." The first few times she cried. Now, she simply nods.

"When are we going?"

I sigh at her persistence. It's not like it was easy, we can't just walk straight to the guards by the exit of the city and say,  _Hey we're leaving this dump so later losers!_ Without being questioned.

"Whenever it seems like a good time."

Naturally, I say this every time she asks. I think she's starting to think that it will never be a good time. I've begun to wonder about that myself. Actually, I want to go and see my brother. I want to go and see Nina's brother. It's tough finding a friend like him. Only Trey's been able to break down the walls I built ever since mom and dad died. He made me play soccer, even when I was never into sports. We'd go wild in the service tunnels, I break a lady's vase and we're both in trouble. Him at the Orphanage and me with my Uncle. But those were the good old days. I want to get back living above the ground, breathing for myself, instead of relying on machines to help me do it and rotting away in a metal cave some thirty feet or so below it. But thinking about something and actually doing it are two different matters.

Nina tilts her head then surprises me a bit by breaking our odd little mantra. Instead of agreeing and starting lunch, she asks a new question. "Thomas, do you think we could leave before the week is up?"

I stare at her in wonder. "Well, sure thing!" I mock-enthuse, "Let me call the guys at the Radio station to reschedule my shift this week. Oh. And have someone replace me as Head Chef for the Wedding Catering next month."

"Thomas," Nina pouts. "I'm being serious."

I'm still surprised but now also curious. "Why the sudden eagerness?"

"I met this girl in work today. Her name was Lindsay Caghan. Do you know her?"

I shake my head. I've never heard the name. But then, that doesn't mean a thing. I use my name when Live on air during Radio broadcasts so there could be a bunch of people who know me without me returning the favor.

"Well, she knows you. She knows you work at the station three days a week and as a chef during the Weekends." Now that's something. I usually stay at the kitchen so no one would guess I'm a Chef but my co-workers. I don't even have lots of friends anymore to be told about to others. Nina sinks slowly into the couch beside me. It was also my bed since I've offered the real bed to her. "I didn't say a word, Thomas. I don't know how she knows, but she does. And that's not the half of it. She knows our desire to leave."

Well, I wouldn't really call it a desire. "So?" I raise a brow. "What can she do? It's not like they'd actually care if we left. They'd be glad for the extra space."

"She doesn't want to stop us, Thomas." Nina explains, halting my instinctive string of defensive cynical arguments. "Far from it actually."

"Then what does she want?"

"You won't like it."

Oh jeez, I had to laugh at that. "There's a lot of things I don't like," I remind her. "I don't like these metal cages they call homes, I don't like those machines that use people as energy sources. And I definitely don't like how they sent our brothers and a whole group of other orphans yearly to the surface as a solution to minimizing shortages and leaving them to deal with whatever dangers the surface has to offer." I threw my arm behind her, mostly to stretch than anything else. "Now tell me, what else am I adding to this very long list?"

"All right," Nina smiles a little. "Lindsay brought up the subject in private. And she had a request for you. There's someone she wants us to take up to the surface when we go."

I stare at her for a second, wondering if she was joking. The expression on her face tells me she's not. "No way, nope. No." I say. I haven't even fully decided whether I, _myself_ ,wanted to go. I'm not all for including others. Before long, we'd have a whole army with us. "I do not like that one bit."

Nina rolls her eyes. "I expected as much." She sighs. "I'm not certain who she wants to send with us, but she seemed fairly urgent about it." She tells me, a strange look on her face. She looks like that whenever she's truly serious about something. That can't be good for me. Then there will be no refusing her.

"Urgent how?"

"Well," She hesitates. "she seemed nervous. As if what she's planning is something that could get her in trouble. I think we should at least hear her out."

"Nina," I rub my forehead. "you don't think that the person she wants us to take is herself, do you? If she's run into some kind of trouble with the law..." I don't finish that. I'm not a huge fan of the Councillors, but even I'm not cynical enough to get on their bad side so boldly enough to break the law. "you know I'd rather this doesn't turn into an escape propaganda."

Nina shakes her head, looking thoughtful. "No, I think it's bigger than that. I don't think she's doing this for her own safety. I think she's risking her safety and it's making her scared. But she really seems desperate to have us agree."

"I don't know Nina, it doesn't seem like a very good idea, including others." I hope I can make her see where I'm coming from. She's a teenager now, and I know I am too, but I expect the moodiness of a teenage girl to be something too much to handle. And if I give her a no... Well, just because Nina's never thrown a tantrum doesn't mean she couldn't start now. "we could end up with a lot of company and not all of them welcome."

"I don't think so, Thomas. The way she acted, I think this is a private problem. It was like she didn't want anyone else to know. But she seems pretty concerned. If it's illegal, it's illegal in a good way." she looks at me with bright eyes. "Know what I mean?"

I sigh. No, I really don't but what I do know is that there was no talking her out of this. "You mean some kind of Noble act? Like a Holy crusade or..."

"No, but it'd be something humane. Or she wouldn't bother," Nina retorts. "I think we should listen to her. It's probably important."

I groan, holding my hands up in surrender. "All right," I exhale, giving in, because who can function in the face of that kind of persistence? 

 _Women complicated things._ Uncle would always say. And he's right.

Nina had already made up her mind and it's futile to get her to give up. She's Trey's sister all right. "Fine. We'll talk to her. Why don't you try and get her to tell you exactly what she wants from us? I'm not making any promises until I know what we're getting into."

"Thank you, Thomas." Nina gives me a soft smile, the kind that gets just about anyone to do whatever she wants. I'm a victim of that countless of times. "I have a feeling that this is the right thing to do."

 _But not necessarily the smartest,_ I think to myself. "Great."

Nina shrugs and smothers a yawn. She's tired. But then again, she's always tired now. Working with machines is a strain. I pretend not to see the dark circles under her eyes, but I think it's wearing on her. That's just one more reason to take her away from this place. I know she's strong enough to handle it but I don't want her to have to.

"Make sure you ask the right questions." I remind her. "I don't want this Lindy girl tricking us to agreeing to more than we want. Be careful."

"It's Lindsay." Nina corrects before smiling. "And I have a better idea than that, Thomas." she says. "how would you like it if I arranged it so that you could meet her?"

"... No."

We argue again, even though I know Nina will eventually get her way nevertheless.


	5. Part 01.3 CODY

**::CODY::**

I place an arrow to my bowstring and send it flying. I got the animal right on its head. I beam in pride. With Meeko hunting everything in sight, I was happy to take one down on my own. Even if I was just on a blind waiting for game to pass by. I climbed down the tree I was perched on and picked up the dead, fallen raccoon. I went over to the red head sitting on a tree stump.

"Lori, Lori! I got a raccoon!"

Lori smiles at me in a way that seems like I got something better. He's always encouraging like that. "Good job, Code." he ruffles my hair. "and you got it at the head, that's a good shot." He takes it from me and put it and places it inside a burlap sack along with a few of Meeko's other kills.

Lori scrunches up his nose though when he did that. The smile earlier was just for me. He eats meat like the rest of us but he never really liked killing the creatures himself, and mentioned something about how he used to be something called a ' _Vegan_ ' or something. I didn't understand it before, but he told me it was something like empathy... I don't really know what that means either, Lori only told me it was like knowing how the animals feel. He said it was the same way we didn't like it when we were attack by Rabids and how these animals must have not wanted to be attacked by us. It was confusing because while we all know Rabids are bad, Lori tells me that it didn't mean we were bad for needing to eat them to survive and something about survival of the fittest, uh, that meant the instinct that drives us to eat any animals we could. It's confusing. But I get it a little bit and also try to kill them instantly so they wouldn't fill pain before they died. Lori understood that it couldn't be helped, we needed meat for food. While we never ran out of food because Kytes did have gardens, it wouldn't be filling. And I don't like veggies much either. So if I only had to eat that forever, I'd go rabid.

I watch Lori take his knife and pull out an apple. He starts to cut it in half so we can share. I stare at his face and start playing this mind game I think to myself, pretending Lorri was his brother and giving him stuff he might say instead. Right now, Lori might say  _Here, let's share it._ While Meeko might say  _Hehe_ _, wanna see who eats his share the fastest?_ And he'd give me the slightly bigger share. He would pretend its so he can win, but he would really want me to accept the bigger half without me feeling guilty. I pretend I don't know that because I really like apples. I stop feeling guilty when Corrin explain to me that it's a way of showing how you care.

Whenever I play this game, it makes me realize how identical Lori and Meeko actually are. It was hard to remember that, since whenever you hear them and see how they act, the differences were more obvious that people easily forget the similarities, like the same red hair and the same yellow eyes. Though their hair styles were giveaways too, since Meeko's was usually tousled and sticking out while Lori was much more clean looking, the ends near his neck curving slightly, though their attitudes were more of stand outs so them looking alike wasn't really obvious.

"Here, let's share it Code." Lori gives me my half. "this one's yours."

 _Nailed it,_  I smile proudly to myself. "Thanks, Lori!"

"Anytime," Lori chuckles, ruffling my hair.

I liked that feeling a lot, it really helps me relax. Still, no matter how relax we might feel at the moment, our instincts were always sharp, Lori's more so than mine since he's older. He was the one who carried me and got us out of the way just in time as Meeko bursts through some bushes, riding on top of a Rabid Sheep.

An actual sheep is actually not so scary, they're real fluffy and cute, sometimes a little stupid. I was watching over our flocks, the ones we take care of for clothes, with Jonah when a rabid wolf tried to eat one lamb. While Jonah fought back as I watched the flock, I can say I was more rattled than they were. They kept eating grass the entire time!

As for any animal's brain internally affected by radiation, they go Rabid. Unlike people, they don't die instantly though. Well, most don't anyway. Any Rabid creature is potentially bad, even a Rabid Squirrel or Mouse since they usually attack in numbers. On the safe side, we don't eat them. It's easy to tell the difference of a Normal and a Rabid. The Normal types are... Well, normal. While the Rabids are colossal, scary, sometimes deformed and really smart.

But leave it to Meeko to make it look fun to take them on.

"Woo-hoo! I got you now you giant cream puff!" Meeko laugh. "Loreal, Coco Bean, clear the way!"

Meeko duplicates himself. The clone went in front of the sheep. It's kinda funny that was his power when he already has an official look alike, except his actual clone acts way different than he does. The sheep got confused long enough for Meeko to jump down, landing on his feet safely. Then, he took out his double-edged saber, pulling it back like one would with a baseball bat and—

Well, Lori closes my eyes before I can see more. Meeko is pretty brutal when he hunts, and he's got a lot of bravery. I hope I can be as courageous someday like these two, and that's one of their common traits. I really look up to them a lot and I really like them, but I guess that doesn't really say a lot since I like everyone. Trey used to tell me that I would only hate an enemy. So far, I never had a chance to see if that were true.

"Okay, you can look now." Lori pulls his hand back.

I run towards Meeko, "That was awesome! Well... I didn't see all of it, but I bet it was awesome!"

"You know it, Coco Bean!" He ruffles my hair. Lori approaches us and I tell Meeko about my own raccoon. He congratulates me, saying if I keep that up, I could hunt just as hardcore as him.

"Woah, now let me stop you right there." The other Meeko interrupted—and I mean Lori, not a clone. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves or even hope that. I think one hardcore hunter is enough, and sometimes one too many... And I mean that almost literally." He smirks. He crossed his arms and look down at the dead sheep with a grimace. "now that you had your fun, please tell me you at least remembered to hunt  _actual_ game we can take home and eat. I'll admit, that sheep is larger than three of us put together even if it were a Normal."

I kick it a bit. "If there were Normals that size. I don't think we can even get a thing that big through the hotel doors."

I guess I should explain the hotel bit.

That's our home base right now. It's not a permanent settlement, though. We have a whole bunch of base because we can't stay in them for more than four months and a half. Actually, the  _a half_ part is the longest we can last in any base. Things change around an awful lot where we live. I don't know if it's the same with the rest of the world because we can't travel all over it, and Rhys only has guess that it might not be as bad as ours. And he knows most things. Rhys called our part of the surface, our division,  _Surface R._ In other words, SURFACE RADIOACTIVE. He told me about the radiation triggered something in the atmosphere, something called Mana, in a time before I was even born. He said when something from outer space came crashing down and changed everything, it landed in our division, back then called a country, so the Mutated Mana altered people like us; have spread most around here to the point that it gave us unique abilities. I don't know why it's called unique when everyone up here pretty much has it, but Rhys said it wasn't normal to have these abilities in the time before I was born.

I don't get much with the rest of his explanation, but I do understand that the past must be really different from now. I also know that we are in a location where things always change. It can be perfectly safe one minute then suddenly everything's chaotic a second later. Also, the other things that got loose Mana energy doesn't like us much. So when one area gets too dangerous, we move to another. They never stay dangerous forever, so we can come back later. That's what scouts are for, they visit the bases ahead of time and check which is the safest to move into. Right now, the hotel is perfectly safe. But since things always change... Well, you'll never know when danger will strike. I don't remember if there was a time that we were without risk of being in danger. Because even at night, while we're sleeping, if the sentries sound the alarm, we have to prepare for action. That's why we've gotten used to trusting and relying on each other.

It keeps us all alive.

Meeko waves off Lori's words. "Yeah, did that first." he gives me another burlap sack, and I tip over because of the weight. "Easy kills."

"What do you have in here?" Lori picks up my arrows and places them back inside the quiver before helping me with the sack.

Meeko shrugs. "The usual. Three foxes, five rabbits, some squirrels. A turkey and half a boar for bacon." We stare at him for a full second. "I had to give up the other half so it could fit the bag since this big guy suddenly attacked."

"Wow," Lori whistles, impressed but not all that surprise. This was his brother after all. "that's a new record. Good hunting."

Meeko scowls. "Good? That's excellent hunting!"

"Except you only got a half animal for bacon. Plus, your ego needs deflating." Lori laughs. "Well, it's a Rabid, but since it's a sheep, we can't let the wool go to waste. It's sturdier than a Normal's wool, after all." He takes his knife and approaches the lifeless sheep, getting to work.

We help him out so we can finish faster and head back. Halfway through, though, I hear leaves rustling, feeling a chill down my spine, and then the thumping vibration from the ground.

Lori must've felt it too. "Cody, Meeko, take a flank!"

I take up Lori's left side, notching an arrow and Meeko takes his right, raising his sword. Then other three rabid sheep come bursting into the glade. I send the arrow flying but it didn't get the eye. Not that it'd be an instant kill, but I could've at least partially blind it. Rabids aren't easily taken down like regulars. What Meeko did earlier might've been an extreme. They weren't as big and colossal as the one he took down but still, about seven feet tall and who-knows-wide doesn't fall under small either.

"Uh oh. I think the one I killed was a mommy..."

I look at him. "Oh. But Meeko, I don't think she could tell her kids not to eat us. She'd probably help them."

Meeko gives me a weird look. "Er, that really wasn't my point..." he says.

A sheep charges towards us. We spread out. But I stumble on my feet.

"Cody! Look out!"

I look up, barely able to shoot my arrow right on the sheep's eye. Thankfully, my arrow had already been placed and it was close enough for me to get a good, clear shot. But I'm unable to get a next arrow ready when the sheep jumps over head.

"Cody!" Meeko swoops by and carries me out of the way.

I hug him around the neck. "Thank you, Meeko! That was scary!"

"Meeko," Lori comes over. "three on three isn't a fair fight if it's against Rabids. That's your cue!"

Meeko looks a little embarrassed. "Ehe, about that..." he holds up his watch. "I might've overdone it a bit earlier during the hunt and my POWER GAUGE is on full bars..." suddenly, his watch sparks and the green-lit screen turned black. "...aaand now the battery's dead..."

"Are you serious now?!" Lori looks amazed... but not the good kind.

"Don't be mad!"

"Well, I can't be happy!"

I didn't have time to pay attention to this argument because I realize I was missing something. The lace that kept my pacifier around my neck was gone! I know I'm ten years old and a little sucker is not something I need, but it was the last and only thing I ever got from my parents. I was a baby when I was still with them. I don't know who they were and what parents even were until Corrin explained it to me. I may not have known them, but I do know that if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be alive and that they must've loved me because that's what they do. So even if a baby item is all I have left as proof that they existed, then I can't lose it!

I scan the area and found it a few meters far and raced to retrieve it.

"You know, you can be so... Wait, what is... CODY?! No, wait!"

"Huh?!"

I pick it up. "Got it!" In the next instant, I'm shoved away and I see Lori being body slammed by one of the sheep. I gasp. "NOO!"

"LORI! No, no, no!" Meeko screams after me, rushing over. But then he is held back to fight off the other two. "GET LOST, DAMN IT!"

I look at the sheep on top of Lori and wait. He doesn't use his powers. He doesn't go through it even as the sheep is tired and doesn't move. It only means he's hurt.

"Lori!"

Then it happened. I felt goosebumps and the sheep floated to the air. But it's hard to keep it there. Meeko got to escape the other two sheep, carrying Lori who looked injured with some scratch marks. But he was still conscious. They were out of the way and I mentally dropped the sheep. My knees buckles up and I collapse. The two sheep went for me. I didn't have the strength to move.

"CODY!"

Then there's fire and I felt the heat. When my vision clears, the animals were burnt and I see our leader stepping into the glade.

"TREY!" I bound up towards him, limping a bit. I wrap my arms around his lower torso. "Lori's hurt!"

Trey pat my head. "I know, I see his wounds. But let's not panic, kiddo." We walk towards the twins. Trey helps Meeko support Lori. Then, he instructs me. "Take the sacks you can carry and get them back to the base. Alert Rhys, Code 4 for A1."

"What's Code 4 and A1 again?" I've just taken up lessons and still get terms mixed up.

"Rabid Animals. A1 is Area 1."

"Got it!"

I take a burlap sack, Meeko's, and run as fast as I can despite the extra weight. The last words I hear behind me are from Lori. I didn't know what it mean so it probably didn't matter.

"Don't tell him anything."


	6. Part 01.4 SEAN

**::SEAN::**

She's staring at me again.

I push her out of my mind and concentrate on the minute impulses that run through my body. Each one has a different meaning; a tiny intricate language of technical detail that only I can understand. It tells me everything. The level of the air conditioning in the lower levels. I turn it down a notch, redirecting the power to the herbarium where latest crops and plants are being sown. The artificial light has to be exactly so. The air filters, a compartment on Level 06 has blown. It's the same one that's been giving trouble all week, probably the propeller screw again. I alert the floor manager to the problem with a thought the machine will transmit for me into a message mentally.

She's still watching me.

Annoyed now, I reach out and find the console nearest to her. I'm not used to communicating directly with people not in my immediate day to day routine. I concentrate a moment before the right access code presents itself and I'm able to override the monitor. I form the words I want to appear on the screen and send them, most of my mind still concentrating on my duties.

* _I do not believe staring at me is one of your prescribe tasks.*_

She starts, then looks around the floor. All the other techs are busy with their work. Unobserved, she raises her hands to holographic keys and types back.  _*I've been hoping you'd contact me. We need to talk._ *

Talk? What on earth does—I pause, bringing up a personal file _—'Lindsay Caghan_ ' have to talk to me—Sean Spring, City Head Maintainer— about? No one talks to me without clearance or authorization from the Councillors.

_*You've got to listen to me. This is important. You do know just talking to you could be enough to get me relegated a lower position or even dismissed.*_

Now that I think about it, yes, that is a fact. Which makes me curious as to why she's doing this at all.  _*Caghan, get to the point. What is so important that you're daring to talk to me?*_

She hesitates, tucking a strand of violet hair behind her ear. Even though she was the only tech who seemed to have that type of hair, it's considered normal, I'm told, as one of the effects from the atmosphere. Similar to me, except my hair is a dark blue color. Finally, she types back.

_*Your life.*_

There's a summon from Head Councillor Levin, an urgent one. He wants a meeting of the other Councillors as soon as possible. I scan through their respective schedules and pull together a time that they will all be available. Then I notify all of them. Seems that the Watch guards called in for a Code 9—now that was interesting. There hadn't been any marked instances of unrest among the upper or lower levels lately. Everything has been running accordingly to schedule...

Except for Caghan, of course.  _*If you're going to continue distracting me I shall notify the room manager and_ — _*_

 _*Hear me out! Please. After all, what I have to say affects you. If you call the floor manager now you'_ _ll_ _never know.*_

And that would be a bad thing?

A message from another Councillor is replying to Head Councillor Levin. It's encrypted. I forward it directly to the most secure connection. The weeks' requests for lower living spaces have been filed. I sort them out automatically, cross-checking them against work performances and personnel files, sending them along. All the while, I'm acutely aware that Caghan is sitting at the console, waiting.

Damn her. She got me interested. * _Make it quick and concise_.*

The Tech manager is coming her way. She leans over the screen and pretends to be entering data from a collection of forms behind her. I wait until the manager is out of the way.

_*Well?*_

_*There's information about the machine. The program they haven't told you.*_

What is this about? The Machine—me—is all I've known my entire life. And she thinks I don't know it? Forms suddenly require my attention. I vent my annoyance by finishing them off quickly. To tell the truth, I would be content with people as numbers and information, so in my opinion the sooner Caghan returns to being simply an entry in a data log, the better.

_*You're wasting my time.*_

_*Wait! Don't you want to know your past before the machines?*_

Huh, now that's new. I don't ever recall a time before me being Maintainer of the City's system.  _*Go on.*_

_*Look, you're not the first maintainer. Your brother was, till it got too much and the same thing could happen to you if you don't stop now.*_

_*What are you talking about? I don't_ — _*_

 _*Yes, you do have a brother.*_ Caghan interrupts my message with her own even before I could finish.  _*Or at least, you had two. Now look, the Councillors don't really care what happens to you in this process.*_ She pulls in an image to her screen and sends it over to my monitor. I know who's image it is. Nina Everhart. The same office as Lindsay Caghan, except slightly of higher position. Why did she send me her photo?  _*See? They're training someone to replace you. Nina Everhart, under the guardianship of one Thomas Stone, Radio DJ and Catering Chef.*_

* _I know. She's there as a precaution in case something goes wrong._ *

_*Yes, that 'something goes wrong' being your burn out.*_

What?

There appears to be an anomaly in the system. Caghan did  _NOT_ type what I thought she just typed. I check the words, but they stay the same. Impossible, the city needs me. The machine was built around me to my exact specifications, the shield itself depends on my energy, my control.

 _*What exactly are you trying to pull here, Caghan? I know the machine_ — _*_

_*Then you know it's wearing at your strength? You're sixteen. The rate you're going now, you will have a year left to live if you continue working in it. Perhaps you'll live a whole lot longer if you just stop doing this job as early as now.*_

I've had enough of this nonsense. * _I do not know what you intend to accomplish but it isn't working. I'm not scared by your tactics. Good day, Caghan._ *

I return the screen to its normal mode and turn my attention back to my tasks. Incoming data has hit a low so I direct my attention to the shield protecting the city from the polluted surface. This is the most central of my tasks.

All the same, I know she's still there, watching me.


	7. Part 02.1 TREY

** PART 02 **

**::TREY::**

"My skin's itching all to pieces." Lori says.

His injuries are the worse we had in the last eight years. I'm getting worried about what Corrin said about wounds exposed to Mana being true. It's not a pleasant thought.

"Don't scratch it," I say instinctively. "My mom used to say that all the time to me whenever I fell into anything."

Meeko grins. "Did that happen often?"

"You don't wanna know how often." I smirk.

A few minutes, then Lori speaks. "I forgot what it's like to have mothers. It doesn't seem real anymore," he sighs. "Do you remember?" he asks his older twin.

Yeah, believe it or not, Meeko is older. Though I guess it doesn't really matter when you're twins. Sometimes, I think Lori is older. He definitely has the attitude that fits the description. But Meeko would throw a fit if I say that every time the opportunity allows it.

"It's only been nine years." Meeko says, but you can tell he's thoughtful now.

"I know. But it seems like this has always been how it was. Us. The Surface. Mana. Living everyday as if it could be our last." Lori shakes his head. "you remembered when we used to play with action figures back then and we both wished to be like Superheroes, like the  _Avengers?_ " he smiles at the memory.

I laugh at that. "Well, guess we don't have to pretend now, but even if you're able to go through things like Vision can, this is a little different from what happened in those movies." I muse. "Back then, I used to think nothing was more important than sports and having fun. Then, it happened."

"What do you think actually happened?" Meeko ask lowly.

"No one really knows for sure. I think... Well, maybe except Rhys. But I don't think he's figured out how to explain it in English."

We all laugh. Rhys usually had his own language, being the smartest of us all, even than those damn scientists. He was the one who figured out the speculated ' _Radiation_ ' was a mutation of Mana. Sure, radiation still had something to do with it, but doesn't mean we all have Spiderman's backstory now.

I'm glad to see the next corner. Not far beyond this is the perimeter fence and then home. A Five-star hotel, if you could believe it. We couldn't even pay to enter one back then, now we've cleaned out most of the debris and made a very nice base. Although it doesn't look much of a Five-star hotel any more than it looked like an oversized run-down motel. Still, the many rooms of the hotel worked to our advantage. It's like a rabbit warren, full of passages. If we're attacked, we can scatter and hide, then ambush.

I see Rhys and Cody as we enter the lobby. "Happy hunting?" The bronze haired, red-eyed genius ask, a smile tugging the corner of his mouth.

"Har-har," I smirk. "what factors as happy hunting in this case?"

Rhys pretends to think about it. "Well, Meeko had his fun. And you're alive," he teases, but there was some seriousness to it. "so that makes it happy."

I had to agree. "Close enough." I shrug. "but next time, it's your turn."

"Hm," Rhys gives me a speculative look. "well, shall I take that as permission?"

Meeko gives me a stink eye.  _Whoops._ I let that slip. "Er, no. Forget that I said anything," But I know he wouldn't.

"Honestly, Trent Everhart," Rhys roll his eyes. 

I winced. He and Corrin are the only ones who ever use my real name whenever they want to make a point.

"Your reservations with my going out for outdoor excursions or tasks that you rather I just stay secured in our refuges is glaringly obvious. I comprehend that while you don't lack trust in my capacity to defend myself, you are just too overprotective for your own good." Rhys rants. "but while I appreciate the concern, may I remind you that I am no Doormat."

Admittedly, I have no idea what he just said but I got the gist. He isn't completely wrong, I don't like him risking himself out there compared to others. But it's not just over protection. I know he has one of the most offensive powers around, but with his brain getting more exercise than his body... Well, I'm just worried what exertion could do. While he wasn't out of practice, Rhys doesn't get assigned to hunts as often as the rest, especially since there are more people now. It does make me a little nervous, like he could burn out easier than we can. Especially with an Energy conducting skill that helps him in conjuring lightning and thunder.

And for that reason, I still would've lost the debate, because of the M.E.D. watch he developed, or Mana Energy Device. Yeah, you can see why we only call it M.E.D. or Med, although sometimes it gets confusing if we're talking about the watch, or Corrin's medicines. That device helps us keep track of the energy level of radioactivity inside a person. We all have it since we all have abilities caused by the strange radiation. It helps us in monitoring our energy whenever we us use our Mana, to make sure we don't overdo it.

It shows us two things, Skill Gauge or S.G. which keeps track of the energy level to keep using the skill. And Power Gauge or P.G. which keeps track of the flow of energy as warning to the user when to rest. It makes me feel like we're in a video game, using up our Life Points and Mana Points in those  _Final Fantasy RPG_ type games. Problem being, having our life points drop to zero means we're literally dead, and not simply having to restart the level. Rhys has extras in stock, but if we need more, it takes three days to mass produce ten and a few extra days to find materials need to make it if the stock runs low. So far, we still have some spare left behind for any incoming newbies.

But I'm digressing, aren't I?

I make my point, Rhys is way more useful thinking than doing, most of the time. Still, I have to hand it to him, when we have our Spars for training, the guy can still give me a run for my money... Not that we have currency anymore, anyway.

"Dude," Meeko looks like he had a head ache. "Speak English."

Rhys cock his head to the side, somehow confused. "I believe that was English, Meek." he points out.

"I think he meant to dumb it down, you know, for a dummy's benefit." Lori says in a teasing tone, smiling weakly.

"Who are you calling a dummy?"

I laugh. Meeko still looks ready to hit his best friend. How that happened, we still ask ourselves. But Rhys was always passive, you lose the will to even try to hit him. No point picking a fight with someone who won't retaliate. Rhys only ever fights back when it's against those radioactive mutants. Anything else won't faze him. He's the most level-headed guy I know. So that's why he makes the perfect Second-in-Command.

We were divided by Batches depending on when we came. The first Eight, my batch, is known as the Genesis Batch, since we started it all. Batch one, the batch that came after us, didn't arrive till the middle of our second year up. That's when Rhys came up with the idea to label our groups, expecting us to get bigger and he said the responsibility of Leading shouldn't just rest on me. He was always one step ahead, I lost count of exactly how many people we had, though, except that they were over a thousand. I can only guess it's a thousand, anyway, because the First releases were always big numbers. When we help out the orphans who were released after us, some of them chose to go their own path though after we showed them how it's done and they didn't think the resources would last. So they're in other areas now, surviving on their own. They'd come visit occasionally for medical aid, and we're not stingy to help out. Those who decide to stay, the younger ones at their time, become batches.

I do know that we have six batches so far. And each batch has a Leader and Second-in-Command. Those guys are assigned to deal with the minor problems of their unit with their Second-in-Commands helping, and they come to me for the Major ones. Leaders are decided by votes after the groups have gotten a feel of each other's personality and figure out who's best suited for the job. This is as much of a government as we can get up here. I rather call it Leadership system, though. In the absence of Leaders, Second-in-Commands take charge, but this time they answer to Rhys. He's not Thomas but he's a reliable partner, either way.

Jeez, now I'm wondering how he and Nina are doing.

"Rhys, anyone else injured today?"

He gives his head a shake. "I believe your unit was the only one that reported back with a mishap. But Lexie is okay now, I suppose you should know."

"That's good," I give a strained laugh. "our trouble was enough." But I don't sound as pleased as I should. I'm still wondering about Lori's condition. "I don't want anyone going near the swamp either. So put up the signs a few meters before you hit the clearing."

"Right." Rhys nods. He leaves us for a while at the top of a worn-out staircase.

Cody tug my black shirt. "Are we getting Lori to see Corrin now?" his eyes glistens in worry.

Corrin's our healer. Because he's the only one who could do it directly. Most of us have been altered to use the mutated Mana differently, but some have the same type, but one way or another, there is still a distinction. It's a big responsibility to control it. Sure, it might not sound scary when all you have to do is heal wounds, track people down, or make things move on your own. But what if you heal too much that you end up using up your life force? Or you ended up tracking the exact position of a person but you can't pull your vision back so you go blind? To control inanimate objects to move on its own sounds easy, but what if you send a spear right through a friend's head?

And things like Fire... It's not something to take lightly.

"This isn't all that important, Code. I hope you didn't bother him." Lori lies smoothly. I can never do that, not when every one puts their trust in me with their life.

Cody beams. "Nope! Like Rhys said, Lori and Lexie are the only ones hurt today."

"Hey," Rhys returns with his spear slung on his scabbard behind his back, two sprays bottles attached to his belt, one for marking the sign on whatever with red paint, the other to leave a scent that repels animals and other unwanted creatures, but that we can catch easily that would lead any of us to it and have a look. "I'll collect a plywood on the way out. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Meeko looks worried. He's not the only one, I'm not much of a fan of sending people off on their own, especially not Rhys. "Maybe I should go with you."

Rhys laughs once. "Meek, I'll be fine. It's not so much a strenuous task. And need I remind you, I took down more game on my own; on our first hunt than you did in yours." he points out.

"Hey." Meeko scowls. "you know it doesn't count when you put your ability in the equation to weigh down against hand-to-hand combat. I didn't even have powers in our first hunt."

"I know," Rhys chuckles. "but it's enough to make my point clear. Oh, and leave your Med on my work table. Cody told me you fried the batteries from overuse... again."

Meeko looks embarrassed. Obviously, Rhys was a lot careful with his powers than his best friend was with his. Actually, he's a lot careful than Meeko in other things. I had to hold back a laugh. The way those two carried on, you'd think it's all they can do to be in the same world. Yet when Rhys twisted his ankle the first year we were here after a Regular bear attack, Meeko didn't let anyone else take a turn with him in carrying Rhys all the way till we found shelter.And then, when Meeko got himself cave blocked in our sixth year, Rhys fried his own Med batteries to blast open an entrance before he could suffocate.

They were the best of friends, but I did have some suspicions that Meeko hasn't exactly been all  _straight_  with Rhys, if you know what I mean.

I'm pretty sure I was never really possessive of Thomas before like the way Meeko sometimes got with Rhys, especially when the bronze-haired guy spent time with Lexie or any of his assistants, the female ones at least. To put it simply, he might have a thing for Rhys, which probably explains why he gave me a stink eye earlier. If I was overprotective, I wonder what Rhys would call Meeko's actions. I have nothing against people who swing the other way, though I'm not even sure Meeko is aware of it. But Lori shares my suspicions, so it's only a matter of him coming out and I'll be here to make sure that no one has a problem with that.

But as for the potential rivalry that would spring with Lexie since she kinda has a thing for my Second-in-Command, too... Well, I don't know how I'm gonna handle that problem.

"Just be careful, man." Meeko says at last.

Rhys smiles. "When was I  _not_ careful?" He went for the exit.

I bring us back to the task at hand. "Let's go guys. Hold on, Lori."

We carry him up the stairs. The floor boards creak strangely but we're used to it. Meeko says something about Lori gaining weight and this being easier with a stretcher. Lori smacks him, telling him we had no stretchers. Our infirmary doesn't really look much of an infirmary either. But there were some huge flat boards that's raised off the floor to lie patients on, if all the beds were filled. I don't know why Corrin needs a specific room for healing. Then again, it'd be hard for someone who was hurt or sick to relax if there were bunch of other kids walking around to watch, so he doesn't like people milling around while he works. I knock on the door. I usually don't because no one really minds if I won't since I'm Leader, what I do is more important than manners. But I make it a point to knock when it's Corrin. I don't like having him displeased with me. He can sometimes get intimidating when he's working, but that's because he wants those he heals to get well faster and doesn't want us making that harder than it should be, which I totally understand and agree with.

I enter the room and see him talking with Lexie, probably about her injury. I feel something in my gut as I see him massaging her ankle and I'm glad that they're only siblings. When he pauses and looks my way, I'm reminded why I don't mind if Meeko bats for the same team.

Because I bat for both teams, with Corrin being Captain of that  _same_ team.

Bluntly put, I like him like the way Meeko might like Rhys, once confirmed, the way guys normally like girls. But hey, nothing was normal anymore. That's just another reason why I don't want him displeased with me. The only other one who knows is Lori, but that's just because he figured it out first. We would always talk about how Meeko can sometimes get with Rhys and he only ever shared his thoughts with me because he knew I had a thing for Corrin, even before I knew about it myself. In a way, Lori helped me realized it. And I'm still deciding whether it's something I should be grateful about. I mean, I used to like this one girl back Underground. Her name was Lindsay, I think. She was really pretty, even when her hair changed color because of the radiation. But I could never really talk to her properly, she was crazy smart and I always felt stupid when I try to strike up a conversation and...

"Hey Trey." Corrin greets me.

And... And... Corrin is smart too, not the same way Rhys is cause no one else is as smart as him.

But Corrin is definitely smarter than me, yet it wasn't hard to talk to him. I can talk with him about stuff without feeling stupid or having it a one-sided conversation. At least, he seemed to look like he was interested in soccer. He's still kinda shy to try it, though, since he says he was a real sports klutz. He also shares things to me, like how he adores his sister to death... In secret, so he would never want anyone to know about his sister complex, so he picks on her a lot, too. He also loved kids a lot, which I fear might make my chances slim if he wants to have kids of his own someday. Not that it was bad that he liked kids, though. His hair was tied together with a rubber band, unlike his sister's who always had it down. It made him look cooler.

He stands up with a smile on his face. "Glad you're okay, even if you did make my sister twist her ankle." Corrin chuckles, "I guess I'd prefer that than her getting eaten... At least, I think I prefer that."

"Hey!" Lexie pouts. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

His smile and laughter makes me blush. He's beautiful, which isn't really a word you use to describe a guy, but he is. Everything he does is beautiful, even the sound of his weird, snorting-like laughter when he really thinks something's funny. Right now it was his casual laugh, so no snorts. But that was a nice sound, too. If anyone asks, I always say my powers makes me flustered more than normal, blaming it on the heat of my powers. Everyone buys it, even Rhys. The only one who doesn't is Lori but he knows what's up, so it's not a surprise.

"Hey Corrin," I give myself a pat in the back for being able to say that normally. "Looking good."

I hear a smack, and I'm pretty sure Lori just face palmed at my lame greeting.


	8. Part 02.2 CODY

**::CODY::**

"Uh, thanks?" Corrin raises a brow before chuckling. "Beat tired is the  _in_ look now, after all."

"Eh... Uh... He he, I take it you've been busy with patients today?"

"As always, and I see you got me another one."

Trey had this look on his face earlier. The same one Lexie and Meeko both give Rhys every now and then, when he doesn't notice. I don't think Corrin notices, either. Trey is also a little red in the face. Trey says his powers make him heat up more than normal so he turns slightly red. But he only really does when Corrin's around and things aren't too serious. I asked Lori once about it, but all he tells me is that I'll get it when I'm older. Lexie jumped up from her flat board. She was resting, like Corrin told her to.

But now she sees Lori. "Oh god, are you okay?!"

"I've been better," Lori smiles weakly.

Lexie goes near, helping him to a flat board. They were childhood friends, or so I'm told. Trey approaches Corrin. He was no longer red in the face. He speaks, all professional-like.

"Corrin, Lori's injuries—"

"I see it, Trey..." He frowns. "It doesn't seem like... The usual."

Meeko was looking his brother over. It's like he wants to do something to help but doesn't know what. Corrin comes over to look at his injuries, healing the ones he can instantly. But there were some swollen bumps here and there.

I hang my head, going over. "I'm sorry Lori. I got careless... If I hadn't, maybe you wouldn't..." Lori covers my mouth. "Mph?"

"If you're not hurt, then it wasn't for nothing." He says. "So are you hurt?"

I shake my head shyly. "Thanks to you..."

"Then that's all that matters to me, kid." Lori smiles before sharing a look with Corrin.

Corrin nods. "Cody," he beckons me. "Can you get me a cloth? Something free of radiation or Mana essence, please."

"Sure Corrin!"

I left the room. I like everyone up here, but I love Trey and Corrin the most. I know I'm mostly alive now because Corrin protected me and raised me. Or so I'm told. But Trey's a better story teller. I remembered that he'd tell me a lot of stories back when I was five whenever Corrin had troubles getting me to sleep. He still tells me them up until now. Since I don't remember much of my parents, I always try to imagine what they look like. I have a feeling they had blue hair and blue eyes like me, but I always end up picturing a much older Trey and Corrin, which doesn't really make sense cause I'm told parents are usually a boy and girl. Still, I really like the idea of them playing the role of my parents.

In a moment, I stop running and settle to a walking pace. It's hard to keep running since there's always people around. Some of them, I know very well. Others are just surviving with us and are fairly new. Most are from this District's Underground Settlement. Few are wanderers from other Districts who somehow made it here. Rhys interviews them to know about the situation in foreign areas that we can't reach easily. Being one of the friendly groups, a lot joins our bunch. With Trey as leader, no one is pushed around for long. We look after each other up here. That's the most important rule. So those who came from other places are in Batch Wanderers with a guy named Leon in charge. 

Even though we all use one language, a language that this district used even before the radiation, those others in Batch Wanderers sound weird when they talk so that makes it hard to understand them. Leon, despite coming from elsewhere as well, learned how to sound like the way we do when we talk. He helps his members in that area with Jonah, his Second in Command. Jonah's kinda a puzzle. He's quiet and he might seem scary and mean, but he's actually very nice. Leon tells me that he just has a hard time expressing himself more. But I believe he's nice. I thought I accidentally insulted him when I said something about his green hair and with how he always wears that orange cloak Lexie made, he looks like a carrot and that it's my favorite vegetable. Instead, Jonah laughed and smiled, saying he was, uh, ' _honored_ ' to be a look alike of my favorite vegetable when I don't like veggies in the first place. I'm not sure he really meant that, so I think he was just humoring me, but the smile and laugh was genuine enough.

Oh, his green hair was said to be caused by the Mana mutation of the atmosphere in his and Leon's area. Other people from batch wanderers have their own distinct quirks too. Kiriho is the most normal looking one, though her eyes are kinda squinty. But Rhys tells me that from wherever she came from, even back then, it was normal to have squinty eyes. Leon and Jonah both have green hair, with Leon's being a little lighter and stray blond coloring was left at the ends and his fringe, which might've been the natural color. Their powers are cool, too. Leon can control gravitational forces to an extent, like he can make an impact to force a person back without even touching them. It can make him fly, too which explained how he and Jonah got here. Jonah's powers are the most unique, though. While all our abilities have their distinction, some of us have similarities like this other guy aside from Trey can make fire, but he can only make it come from his hands, whereas Trey can produce it from anywhere. There's this other kid who can do a tracking thing like Lexie, but she can only do that for animals. Jonah is the only one I know who can disappear and reappear from shadows, he called it Shadow travel. It's a bit creepy when he comes out from your own shadow. He can use the shadows to attack too, sometimes.

"Ah! Sorry!" I bump something that moves.

Kytes looks down from the stag he rode on. As a by product of his ability to control nature, to an extent, he's able to tame a few Normals, never Rabids though. He can also communicate with the live vegetations. Well, I don't think it's communication much when it's not friendly. More like Kytes can read their motives or something like that.  He's the one who can do most things with his ability.

"What's up, Cody?" Kytes dismounts, "you're in a hurry."

"I gotta get a cloth for Corrin."

"Oh," He nods and holds out a cloth to me. "Here, I was going to use it to help your pal Jack and some other ten year olds get cleaned up. But you'll probably need this sooner." Kytes looks to the side, putting his fingers to his mouth and whistling. "Snowflake, get me another cloth please."

I look up and see the White ferret pet of Kytes on a window sill from the other side of the hotel, it seemed to nod its head before going inside the room. She's really fluffy and cute. I'm glad Kytes can do that with his powers, it's fun playing with her.

"Thanks Kytes!" I grin, taking the cloth.

The blond nods. "So who else is hurt? Or is it still for Lexie?"

"No, it's for Lori. And it's because of me. I was going to get hurt. Lori saved me and got himself hurt. It's my fault..." I sighed.

Kytes places a hand on my head and pokes my nose. "Lori only did what anyone else would have done. It's not your fault. We look out for one another, Code." he smiles. "It's what keeps us alive. Will frowning help Lori now?" he asks. I think about it then shake my head, smiling a little. "There, that's better."

He's right, I feel better.

I head back to the infirmary and hear them talking. It sounds important so I didn't want to interrupt by going in right away. The older kids seem to avoid being serious when the younger ones were around and I didn't want to disturb them now. It might be about Lori's condition after all. I peek in.

"—might be a way to counter it." I hear Trey talking.

Someone sighs. "No. I've done this for years, Trey. But this is the first time cuts were directly exposed this harmful Mana agent." Ah, it sounded like Corrin. What did he mean?

"We've stopped something similar." Now that's Meeko. "Remember last year when Jenny was standing too close to Kytes when he was doing his version of  _gardening_ —?"

"Meeko," The strict tone of Corrin's voice stops him. "that's different. The radiation that made contact to Jenny's system came from Kytes's signature Mana, not from the atmosphere. This may not have been from the atmosphere, but it came from a Rabid, which is just as bad."

Jenny, who wasn't there when I left earlier, cuts in. "And if you remember, Corrin had to amputate my finger to save me. How long do you think Lori could survive without an entire leg?" She spat.

I heard Lori laugh a little. I finally peeked in, he looked weaker than he was earlier. Meeko looks troubled, and Lexie's crying. "I'd be dead before the day finished." he mutters.

And I feel cold, putting a hand over on the wall to stay standing. _Did I hear right? Lori might—_

"Don't downplay anything, bro. You're laughing, but I know you're scared." Meeko frowns, his upper lip trembling. "don't take it lightly."

Lori looks at his brother, and now I can see he had a hard time breathing. "I'm always scared, Meeko. But I hide it so I wouldn't  scare you guys." he reaches a hand over to squeeze his brother's shoulder. "it won't help if you were."

"I rather be fucking scared than lose you!" Meeko grips that hand. "so don't hide it!"

Lexie rubs her eyes. "Corrin, please," she begs. "you can't let Lori die!" she sobs and I'm shaking now.

My heart is pounding hard, hammering out of my chest. I concentrate on how loud it sounds in my ears. Concentration. That is something I know how to use. My Med Watch tells me that I'm doing fine, keeping my Mana checked.

"While I can deal with the body and help it heal faster—among other things—decisions like Life and Death aren't really within my control." Corrin sighs, rubbing his forehead. "I wished it was."

Meeko grumbles. "Well, cure or no cure, I'm not just gonna stay put and let Lori die!" He scowls. "If you guys won't do something about it, I will!"

"Tough words from a tough guy," Jenny scoffs. "But there's not much any of us can do without a cure, idiot."

"So what?! You just expect me to accept the fact that it's hopeless?! That's insane!"

"Insane or not, this is the consequence of not being careful! Rhys gave us enough warnings for the worse scenarios. Being his best friend, you should've taken it seriously. Aside from instincts, his warnings kept us alive. Caution Meeko. Do you know the word? We don't like it anymore than you do, and I agree when you say that we need to keep looking for something that'll help, but for the moment, it's beyond us!"

Corrin interrupts. "Enough," he scolds her. "Jenny, while you make good points and I know you don't always see eye to eye with Meeko, you're being a little harsh now. Please try to be a little sympathetic."

"Right," Jenny sighs, "Sorry."

Meeko didn't respond, he just turns back to Lori, collapsing on him. "I'm so sorry, Lori... I should've taken better care of you... It's my fault..." He sobs. "I can't... can't lose you... What am I gonna do without you?" Lori placed a hand on Meeko's shoulder, not saying a word.

"Okay, I think that's enough." Trey sighs, rubbing his head. "Lori needs to rest."

Corrin nods. "Trey's right. We'll continue when Rhys returns. With his help, we might have more brain power." he sighs. "but if Cody were to find out..."

"Don't let him find out," Meeko says quickly. "I don't want him to blame himself,"

Lori nods. "It wasn't his fault," 

"Fine," Trey groans, rubbing his forehead. "I don't want that either... But you know how I feel about lying and keeping secrets, so you owe me Meeko."

I back away from the door, dropping the cloth, and hardly noticing. Then I took off running. My room is on a higher level than Corrin's infirmary, so I have to go upstairs. I don't think anyone notices or minds that I'm running. Someone is always running and I don't want people knowing something's wrong, especially if Meeko wants to keep Lori's condition a secret.

I blink back tears and slam the door to my room. No one will think that's strange. I think they'd be more worried if I didn't slam it. I fell on my bed, which was really just a mattress, and buried my face on the pillow. I howl. I've always thought Lori was invincible. Like Trey, and Corrin , and Meeko and everybody else that's been with us for as long as I can remember. For anyone to die... For that  _anyone_ to be Lori... I didn't think it could happen.

**—o—**

Later, I stop crying. I don't do anyone good when I cry. So I decided to look for Jack. He's a good friend. He might help me get my mind off this. The fear of death, the guilt, the worry.

Then I pass Rhys's research room. It's usually filled with Rhys's Corps but for some reasons, it's cleared out and only three people were in now.

"There's really no need for research, Trey. If we cannot extract a cure from our own resources, elsewhere is recommendable."

"But where would we look first, Rhys? We don't have a lot of time to check everywhere."

"Yes, I understand that it's not a luxury we have." Rhys sighs. "So I've been considering  _that place_ since you brought up this matter to me." he stares at the floor.

Lexie gasps. "You can't really be thinking..." she didn't have to finish.

"No in the hell way, Rhys. I won't risk losing you, as well."

Rhys frowns, and that much emotion was rarely on his face. He was always so collected and controlled. "But if we lose Lori... More to the point, if Meeko loses him... I fear what it might do to his sanity. You're not exactly aware of how much his brother means to him." he protested. "It's not obvious, but he is really emotional and his tantrums are really heart breaking. I remember when his parents died..." he shakes his head. "The underground may have figured out the cure we need. Look, I'll go myself."

"That's not exactly selling your idea," Trey scrunches up his nose. "I don't even like sending you to hunts anymore. And what are you gonna do if they shoot at you?"

"They may not. If we come in few numbers, we will not appear hostile. It's all about negotiations..."

Trey makes this hard, stern expression that makes Rhys quiet. "I'm not budging on this one, Rhysell. Look, your research and inventions has always been enough. It will have to do."

"Will it?" Rhys asks. "If I can't save my own best friend's brother, what kind of friend am I?"

"Please Rhys..." Lexie begs. "Don't push it."

"But Lexie, Meeko..."

Trey interrupts. "... Will not lose his brother, because you'll be able to pull through as you always have. Even if he did, and let's hope not, he'll need you around to help him through it even more."

"... Very well." Rhys sighs. "there's no arguing with that logic. I'll do all that I can to devise a cure immediately. But it will still take time."

So this was it. Something useful I can do to save Lori. I ran up to the room where Lexie compiles all the maps she's created or other old ones that's been there since. We always take them with us when we evacuate. I take one that had the  ** _UNDERGROUND SETTLEMENT D12_** labeled on it. It was hard to read, but they taught us how to at training so I should be fine if I bring a compass. I make sure to take one that won't be affected by the radiation. I hurried down to the lobby.

No one will notice me gone. There's a lot of people here. More than a hundred. They'll think I'm blending in the crowd. I nearly made it out when I hear Meeko calling **—**

 _Uh oh!_ "Hey Meeko!" I beam, like nothing's wrong. "What's up?"

Meeko just stares at me and crosses his arms. "... You're off to find a cure, aren't you?" he walks up to me.

Busted.

"Look, Meeko, I... I just have to, okay? It was my fault. You gotta understand!"

"I'm not gonna stop you."

I blink. "You're not? Really?"

"Really. I'd come along if I could. But I... I can't be away from Lori right now." he bit his lip. "I'm scared to be..."

I feel relieved. "So you're letting me go?"

"Yes. But just one thing. Remember, they're dangerous." Meeko looks stern and serious. "they don't like us and if they think you've been changed by being up here, they'll probably like you even less. Don't let them see your power, okay?"

That's easy. I just have to concentrate. "Okay!"

"And another thing," Meeko embraces me tight. "Be careful. If anything were to happen to you, too..." he didn't finish that. Meeko pulls away and gave me my bow and arrows.

I smile brightly. "I'll be back, Meeko. And I'll find a cure to save Lori, too so don't worry!" Those were the last things I said before I set out on my first mission alone. 


	9. Part 02.3 THOMAS

**::THOMAS::**

"This way."

I follow obediently after Nina down a side tunnel. Correction, I follow her obediently albeit resignedly. I have to duck to get through it and I suspect it isn't used often. I still don't know where we're going. Nina spoke with Lindsay then came back to lead me down a twist of metal caverns that seemed to go nowhere. For all I know, we're going to this  _Lindsay_ person's personal compartment. Nina was adamant in her refusal to tell me where, exactly, we were going. It's hard not to be curious and suspicious.

"Down here."

She leads me downward to a slopping cave-like tunnel that goes straight to the right. Then, there's twists and turns that it didn't matter if we were going left, right or even circles—maybe spirals since we are going down. I was getting dizzy and gave up trying to remember what paths we were taking. I think that I'm supposed to be confused, that would explain the complication of these intricate paths. Nina and, I'm almost positive, Lindsay do not want me to know exactly where I am. I'm wondering now if we're still within the city. This might be a separated part that can only be reached with the turns and twists. Of course, I may be exaggerating.

"We're almost there."

I make an almost exasperated look. I must have a lot of patience to have it  _barely_ exasperated by this point, "Oh great, and where exactly is  _THERE_? _"_ I drawl.

I think Nina can sense my irritation and detects the sarcasm, but she does a good job ignoring it, and doesn't resolve giving me a shortcut. No matter how antsy I could be, for her, Lindsay's cause was too much to risk. Inwardly, I sighed. Nina stops and turns to the right where a small panel of keys is built into the cold, grey wall of the tunnel. Nina enters a rapid series of code, fingers flickering expertly as she types. A section of the tunnel break smoothly into a door. I'm not surprise. Then again, I'm rarely surprised. Although the room is definitely not the normal kind of private compartments, not like Nina's and mine. There are office equipment set up neatly around the room. And another panel of keys are at one side of the room, an entrance or exit to another room perhaps.

Then I see a young woman about my age, maybe younger by a year. She's sitting on a desk but turns when we enter and stands to greet us. "Hello Mr. Stone," she says with a smile. "it's nice to see you again."

I blink, a little confused. "Eh? Again? Have we met?"

"I'm sure we have, that's why when I found out Nina was under you guardianship, I didn't hesitate to have her reach you. It couldn't have been more perfect, actually." Lindsay smiles softly. "although it appears you have forgotten me. Well, it was your best friend who always tried talking with me so that would explain it."

That's when it clicked.

Lindsay Caghan, she was this dorky girl back when we were kids and Trey had a huge crush on her. Of course I say dorky because she was the smart type, but back then I got why he liked her. Now, she got even more attractive, her nice short-cropped violet hair. Her round-rimmed glasses made her eyes look bigger than it actually was which made really bring out the nice, teal color of it.

 _What the hell_ , I shake my head, I'm not supposed to be thinking of my best friend's crush like that. _Disrespecting the bro code much?_

"No, I remember you. Just now though." I finally say. "about it being nice to see you again... I guess we'll have to see with what you'll have me do."

Lindsay gives me a polite expression. "Always so dubious, I see."

"I prefer to call it being careful."

She nods curtly, fixing her glasses before continuing. "Then I'll get right to the point," her smile disappears. "I'm asking you to do something that would get both of us punished if it were discovered, severely so."

That was... blunt. I guess there's no other word for it. "I'm not sure this is good persuasion. How about try again?" I quip.

"I'm not finished. See, it's illegal in a way or maybe just rebellious. But the risks are worth it."

"Ah. Well, that's an improvement. But not really selling the idea. If you think about it, a lot of things are worth the risks... So long as we're not caught, that's the issue." I point out. "I'd like to know our chances of not getting caught, and the odds of avoiding being, as you would put it,  _'Punished. Severely so.'_ " I said, air-quoting those words.

Lindsay stares at me before looking at Nina. "I forgot how cynical he can get."

"You get used to it." Nina shrug. "he wouldn't be Thomas otherwise."

Lindsay turns back to me. "Look, this will mean saving a life." she says to me, obviously seeing the apprehension I'm trying to keep off my face. "And I don't know about you, but it's most certainly important to me."

Out of the corner of my eye, Nina is nodding.

"You're going to have to leave sooner or later, at any rate." Lindsay continues. "Or Ms. Everhart is, anyway. Unless she wants to die. If you wait another few months, someone else will already be dead, and then it'll be her turn.

"You've got my attention." I tell her.

No need to add that the thought of Nina being killed—or even being at the risk of it—chills me right to the core. She's all I have left of my brother. It's decided then. If I can be sure that what Lindsay Caghan says is trustworthy, I am definitely leaving and Nina along with me. No more questions asked.

"Now about this other person—" Lindsay interjects.

 _Okay,_ I think back.  _Maybe except for that question._

The two of us locked eyes. "You don't trust me, do you?"

"Not so much." I agree.

No point in sugar coating it. This is no courtesy call, lives may be at risk. Lindsay's gaze is sharp and I can tell she's dangerously intelligent. I'm going to be cautious if I don't want her to trick me into something.

"Would you if you were in my shoes?"

She smiles. "I might. It depends on what you would be asking me about. But I do have facts to back me up. If you'll just take a look at these." Lindsay pulls out a few sheets of paper out from a drawer beneath her desk, then holds them out towards me.

"Uh, thanks."

I look over the sheets briefly, scanning through than actually reading them. The text is a confidential report from the mother computer that runs our city. It's a full description of the untimely death of a certain Luke Spring. I raise a brow. I read about this at the newspapers back then. But it was classified as unsolved, that the reason for the deceased was unknown. It seems that this guy was a former government worker, so I guess that answers the secrecy. Normal people don't really bother knowing what the higher-ups were up to. But it appears his job was very similar to the one Nina is being trained for. I only know this, too, because I knew Nina and she told me how it worked. I looked at Lindsay before I continue further.

"This person is already dead. Lindsay, what does this have to do with—?"

"Keep reading," she interrupts. "And try to remember what it says. I'm going to have to burn those when you're finished, so don't miss anything."

I sigh and read on.

The rest of the report was a description of Luke Spring's death. I start to understand why the file was confidential. He wasn't much older than me and the public would question the government's dealings that would lead to the death of one so young. I wondered how Lindsay managed to get her hands on it. Hacking the system, maybe? I won't doubt she's intelligent enough. It seems that growing up, Luke was in the care of the government who also took in their care his mother, Caroline Spring, and two brothers, Sean and Cody Spring. Unfortunately, Mrs. Spring had passed on after a few months due to giving birth prematurely to the youngest. The father, who was also a government worker, had passed away some time before the radiation hit, that's why they've been taken to custody. About the time of Mr. Spring's passing, to earn their keep, Luke already took the job that had been to power the machine for our city. It was enough to even say that he was the machine. He'd started the task approximately two weeks before we were evacuated. The job he was given should have been one that twenty or more individuals handles together, for safety. But apparently—and this pissed me off—the government talked it over before people were all settled in permanently and they felt it was more efficient for one person to take on the responsibility, until he or she was burned out. And that was exactly the case that happened to Luke. Burned out. Death by heart failure. Caused by being hooked up to a machine. When Sean was going to take Luke's place, they had his memories erased to void himself from emotional ties that made him resist taking the office in the first place. I crumpled the paper in my hands and threw it down. Lindsay picked it up and had it incinerated with a burner.

 _Damn. People are just getting more and more stupid._ He was a kid, they were both kids! And—I looked at a page I didn't crumple yet—the youngest was only a year old when his older brother had been killed. He never got to know his parents, now he'll never know about his Older brother. Luke was even younger than Nina when he took the job.  _What the heck is our government system on anyway!?_

"Great," I say to Lindsay tightly as she takes the final paper from me and burned it as well. "Now that I'm generally pissed off with humankind in general, mind telling me what your point is?" Okay, so I'm rude. I'm not exactly in a jovial mood after reading that.  _People are such fucking idiots. What were they thinking? Didn't they know what could happen? What kind of people do we have running our city?_

"The point," Lindsay starts simply. "is that they haven't changed that plan for Sean's benefit, even after Luke's death. More like pleased, with one less mouth to feed."

I'm sorry. Did I say  _fucking idiots_? I meant  _fucking DISGUSTING idiots._

"I've calculated exactly how long it took Luke's energy to wear out under the strain of the machine," She continues in a flat, practical tone of voice. "He was in need of serious medical help after three years, six months, and eleven days. I haven't been able to pinpoint the hour, but I'm relying on data that's almost a decade old, and it's difficult to obtain in the first place. The burn out occurred another twelve days later. However, they thought the burn out wouldn't be for another year, two months, and six days. Needless to say, the replacement they had was already hooked up on the training machine was put on duty sooner than intended."

"His replacement?" I glance at her sharply. "you mean—"

Lindsay nods. "Yes. They weren't sure at that point whether it was more useful to have someone who had actually lived before being hooked up to the machine or if someone who had been trained from a very young age to be the machine. Luke was their guinea pig the first time. Also—" she trails off.

"Who's the second?"

But I'm fairly certain I have a good idea of who it is, and based on the report, if he's still alive and burning, I know who I'm taking with Nina and myself. Because I'd be just like those damn Councillors if I don't. Still, I want confirmation.

"I'm getting to that. So the training machine was designed to react to its operator exactly the same way the real machine would. The difference was that the training machine had no harmful effects on the human hooked into it—and of course it didn't do anything useful. A mere simulation than anything else." she shrugs. "Luke's brother was hooked into the real machine shortly after Luke's death. I believe it was also about the same time orphans were sent out, but I suppose that's irrelevant for now. In any case, no difference was noted by the new subject—who wasn't informed of the switch. And things continued as usual, with Luke's brother as the current power source." She frowns. "they would've trained the baby to be the next replacement if he wasn't so young. Still, they found an alternative and didn't need the child anymore. Sadly, I'm not at all sure what happened to the youngest. Neither does Sean, who probably doesn't even care since he can't even remember life before the machine."

"And this replacement is..." I know the answer. But I need to hear it from her.

Lindsay responds quickly. "Nina Everhart. She'll take over the job as soon as her training is finished, which the Councillors estimates might be the time Sean will burn out. Unless you take them both away and we can prevent any casualties." she says firmly.

"I see," I nods, but am given pause by something. "why are you doing this, though? I mean, without a maintainer, the system here could collapse, couldn't it?"

Lindsay looked at me directly into my eyes. "Because I don't believe one innocent life should be sacrificed even if it's for the benefit of others. It's only noble for it to come to that if the sacrifice is willing and aware. In this case, they're not. The Councillors should find a better alternative." she goes on. "Plus, I want to be humane."

"Uh, you mean human?"

"No, humane." she insists. "There's a difference. And this is a matter of humanity." she purses her lips. "you might even say it's a matter of life and death. Life, for Nina and Sean if we are to succeed here. Death, probably for both of us mostly, since they would still need the other two, in the event that we fail. But there are worst things. Sean's sixteen years old, and it's starting to drain on him. Plus, the required power of the machine has gotten up. He'll die earlier than he should if we don't take him away at this early stage." she looks like she was scared but her voice doesn't break. "you might think I'm being emotional here, Mr. Stone but I do not want him to die. Please help me save him."

I look at her calmly. "Why would you go so far for a person, I assume, you barely know personally?"

"Because I like to think that human nature isn't as cruel as they make it seem." She says, impassioned, "That the world I was born into isn't this screwed up. I want to think that I'm better than them, but now that I stumbled upon this information, even if it was a cause of boredom, I would be just as hateful if I chose to ignore it."

I smile a bit, "You know we won't even get the chance to look back at this moment and laugh about it if we fail." I say lightly.

"Definitely won't even live long enough to think of it."

I chuckle dryly. "All right. You have my cooperation. I'd look pretty bad if I refused now, wouldn't I? Anyway, I'm willing to take on your crusade for a better human kind. Since I have to take Nina, it'd be pretty cruel to leave this Sean Spring behind, wouldn't it? And I want to be better than those damned Councillors, too." I shrug dismissively. "I mean, I know I'm already better-looking than them, but it doesn't hurt to be more human than them, too."

Nina roll her eyes.

Then I'm surprised when she gives me a hug. I blink, taken aback. Sure, with my job description as a DJ, I'm pretty much under the category of a celebrity in these times. I'm given promos and have to stand as a prize for fan girls, so I'm used to girls flocking me. But while Lindsay said she was emotional, I didn't think a girl like her would let emotions best her. I always thought those intellectually inclined weren't like that. I guess you couldn't stereotype.

"Thank you so much for agreeing, Mr. Stone."

"Er, ahem... Hey, since I'm doing a favor that could otherwise get me killed, we might as well dropped the formalities." I point out, trying to make it sound nonchalant. "In any case, it's an eye for an eye. And with your help, we can get Safety Suits to protect us from the surface."

Now it's her turn to be surprised. "Are you planning on returning?"

"No," I admit. "Not at all, but I rather not turn into some kind of twisted mutant freak if I can help it. If it's safe, we'll take them off later."

Lindsay looks thoughtful. "Now that you mentioned it, it would be wasteful if you all end up dying either way if you go up there. All right, leave it to me." she smiles. "I've completed the device that should be sufficient to replace Sean for a few days. They won't know that's he gone till then, so if you can make it as far away from the entrance as possible before then, it would be best."

"I'll remember that. How soon can we meet this other guy?"

Lindsay hesitates for a moment, then she looks at me then to Nina, then back again. "Actually," she adds coyly. "this might be sudden, but Nina's agreed we'd go meet Sean right after you and I talked. And as soon as that happens, the plan will be in motion."

I stare at the two girls who are dead set in getting me killed—pun totally intended—with the most cynical expression over, and I'm hearing my Uncle whisper to me repeatedly. 

_Women complicate things, Women complicate things, Women complicate things..._

"... You two are kidding me, right?"


	10. Part 02.4 SEAN

**::SEAN::**

If there's one part of my work that I take pride in above all else, it's the shield.

Generated by a combination of machines and the unknown substance the atmosphere is composed of—filtered and purified, of course. It keeps the city safe. All the time I've been in charge of monitoring its performance, it hasn't so much as flickered. There was a disturbance earlier, about the time of sunset above at the surface but in no way had it anything to do with the shield's inefficiency. No one can do a better job than me. Which is why I've been able to dismiss Lindsay's remarks. She's obviously making it up—I'm that important to the safety of this city, no risks would be taken in regards to me. I've got the best security around me—The actual me, not the machine me. Day in and day out. Which makes the fact Ms. Caghan was able to talk to me slightly worrying. I checked her records, though. She's a dedicated tech, with nothing against her apart from a slight tendency to question superiors. After much deliberation, I decided not to pass the matter to the Councillors. I don't want them to think I'm easily panicked by a breakdown of routine. I'm sure Lindsay got the message that her tricks won't work on me, and that'll make her give up. If she doesn't...

I'm scanning the shield's generators again for abnormalities, when a message interrupts me. That in itself is unusual. Although the message is marked low priority, the only ones who know how to contact me without needing me to initiate it are the Councillors, the technicians immediately in charge of my life control systems and, I learn as I process the message, Nina Everhart as well. The message, much like Nina herself, is economical and practical.

* _Mr. Spring, I do not wish to disturb you but if it's possible I would like to communicate with you. Monitor 24. Tech support Room 12._ *

Well, although unusual, that shouldn't be any inconvenience. I finish process of the main shield then open the port to Monitor 24, TSR12. I contact Ms. Everhart through message transmitting. Simple really. I think of what I wish to say and the machine does the rest.

* _Nina_ _Everhart._ *

* _Hello Mr. Spring,_ * Ms. Everhart does the same. Impressive. * _Thank you for accepting my request._ * Now that wasn't.

She still clings to the common courtesies. I see them as an incomprehensible waste of time. If a job has to be done, it should be prioritize. No buts, no please, and thank yous. She still has a lot to learn, it seems. Perhaps I could give her tips while we have this discussion... Of whatever matter she wants to touch.

* _Is there a problem?_ *

* _Yes. One that I require your assistance for specifically._ *

There is a slight hesitation before she continues. I opened the links to the back up shield and begin processing that, wondering why Nina would hesitate. She is not given to acting on impulse otherwise she would not have been a tech, even despite her fortuitous personal circumstances. When her answer comes, I am surprised.

* _My guardian is uncertain about allowing me to continue in the program. I would like him to meet_ _you_   _in order that he may be able to see what the result of my training will be and withdraw his objections._ *

* _That is illogical. After all, your guardian isn't  involve in the matter and his decisions have little authority. If the Council so wished, they could override any objections he made with no opposition._ *

Nina replies evenly. * _Even so, Mr. Spring I would very much like Thomas Stone to withdraw his objections from a more personal approach rather than political._ *

I'd previously considered Nina one of the more pragmatic members of the city. This sudden display of unaccountable emotion was most disquieting. * _It would have no significant result either way._ *

* _It would make Mr. Stone happier to know that I was in good hands. And it would make me relieved to have his approval._ *

That did have a kind of sense, even if it was based on emotion. Certainly Ms. Everhart would be able to function more efficiently without the worry of her Guardian's disapproval of the matter.

* _In that case, I will obtain clearance for you to bring him to Tech room 01._ *

* _Thank you, Mr. Spring._ *

I close the port and open another one, this time to the manager of security, instructing him that Nina Everhart and a Visitor are cleared to visit me. That done, I settled back to wait. To be honest, I'm curious to see what sort of person Thomas Stone is. He must be quite the character for Nina Everhart to wish for his approval. Although I've dismissed all emotional bonds as constraining and depleting of energy, she insisted on returning home to share meals with him for lunch and dinner, something that slowed her process in adapting to her lawsuit.

Why then?

I have a free minute in between data transfers to satisfy my curiosity some. Thomas Stone's profile is that of many of the current young adult members of the city, born on the surface but raised Underground with a fair degree of success. He holds two positions, one being a Radio DJ for three days in no particular order and dependent on turn shifts during Weekdays, and then a Catering Chef on Weekends, cooking up fine cuisine and the occasional pastries. That would explain Nina Everhart's eagerness to share meals with him. It would seem this was his own choice, as oppose to Radio DJ, an occupation he simply took over in all probability of his Deceased Uncle, a former Music teacher in a Daycare back in Surface times. A lackluster record, he is reported to be cynical and independent. As for his age, he recently turned eighteen.

— _Mr. Spring, your visitors are here._ —

— _Acknowledged. Allow them to proceed._ —

I key in the command for my visor to be detached, shutting down all but the essential parts of the program as I do so. Flicking the last switches, I slide back the protective shield that separates me from the rest of the room. The light rips through my head. I winced, putting a hand up to protect myself.

_Damn, the techs._

I've told them the lights needed to be dimmed. They're giving me headaches more and more lately. How frustrating. I can't function like this.

"Mr. Spring,"

It takes me a moment to register the greeting. "Ms. Everhart," Her guardian stands behind her. A Cobalt eyed, blond young man, looking at me with an expression of—what, I'm not quite sure. Since I've dismissed all emotional patterns as inefficient, I have difficulty with this so-called nonverbal communication, which includes facial expressions. "And this must be your Guardian, Thomas Stone?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm pleased to meet you." He stretches his hand out.

Nina gently pushes the hand away. "Mr. Spring considers this type of formality unnecessary." She explains promptly.

Thomas frowns at the girl. "I see. So I guess we get right to the point if that's the case then?" He turns to me.

"Yes. I believe formalities impedes efficiency."

I haven't heard anyone else come in so I'm surprised to hear a new voice. "And Mr. Spring is nothing if not efficient." I never heard her actually speak. But the tone made me guess who it was before I turned around.

"Something other people could learn from, Ms. Caghan," I say with a tone of superiority. "Have you come to waste more of time?"

Her eyes flashes. "I've come to save more of your time, actually. By preserving your life." She answers.

I scan the room quickly. _Damn, no techs._ It must be late. "Your scare tactics were useless before, Ms. Caghan."

"You didn't hear me out, Mr. Spring. I have facts—"

"Which I do not for. I know the machine inside-out. I've been in it my entire life. There's nothing you can tell me about it that I don't already know."

"Except the previous maintainer of the city before you, your brother Luke Spring, died because of it."

Now that was new—but indefinitely a lie. "Luke Spring? I told you, I don't have one."

"You don't have one, that's true. You had two of them." Caghan insists. "Luke Spring was your older brother. He would be a little older than Thomas if he hadn't died. They altered your memory so you wouldn't remember. You also had a baby brother, whom they forcefully separated from you prior to your memory alteration. I'm not sure what happened after that—"

"Enough!" I snaps. "I will hear no more of this nonsense. I never had any brothers. I think I would know  otherwise. No one can alter my memory. I alone have access to my memory through the machine. It helps me remember." I turn back to Nina and Thomas who have gone silent during this exchange. "I apologize for Ms. Caghan, I'm not sure what she's trying to accomplish but she will be removed shortly."

"Actually Mr. Spring," Nina says softly. "we're here at her request."

I stare at her, my summons to the floor manager unfinished. A mistake. I yelp as under my touch, the contact link goes down. "What did you just do?"

"Closed the port. I don't want anyone to interrupt this little chat." Caghan states, hands moving fluently over the keyboard. If not for this assault, I'd be impressed. "I've studied the machine for years, Mr. Spring. I've taken down all your communication abilities. Trust me—I'm good at this. Any attempt you make to override me, I can stop."

 _Oh yeah?_ I subtly turn my attention to rerouting a few of my data channels. "And the point of all this?"

"To save your life."

"I thank you for the kind thought. But it is unnecessary. I am perfectly satisfied with my current situation."

"For now you are," She interjects. "but what happens when your strength wears out? You are already feeling the effects of prolonged exposure to the machines. You need more hours rest than you used to, you complain of increasing headaches—"

I cut her off. "That is the tech's fault. If they'd just reduce the wattage of the light bulbs like I'd asked them to—" I protest.

"Huh? But, wait—" Thomas raises a brow. "these lights  _are_ dimmed."

"Got it!" Nina says suddenly. She's at one of the tech computers. "He bypassed the normal communication links, just like you said he would."

"Good," Caghan smiles. "So you've blocked his messages?"

"Block and deleted."

I clenches my fists. They've out maneuvered me. "Why are you doing this?

"It's necessary to save your life," Caghan starts loading things out of her bag. "Thomas, there are some parts in the cupboard. Bring them here."

I watch them sullenly as she starts to assemble something. Nina knows the machine—she could stop anything I try  to do from within the system. Instead, I look at Caghan's construction. A kind of generating device with a built in projector and some sort of communication up link.

"It'll never work." I snap. "the techs see me everyday. They'll notice at once that I'm gone."

"But they don't make direct contact, do they?" Caghan smirks. "give me a little credit, Mr. Spring. I've been working in this room the last year, I think I know how to build a hologram long enough for this baby to do its work." she pats the now assembled machine proudly. "you're going to thank me for this one day."

"Somehow, I sincerely doubt that." I have a bad feeling about this.

"Lindsay, isn't it too soon to do this?" Thomas Stone seems uncertain. "We're not even properly packed."

"We can't waste anymore time, Thomas. We can't wait, we have to act quickly. You know there's no other choice. We wait any longer, it could shorten his lifespan. He needs to start recovering now." Caghan insists. "We can't keep him out of communication for long without people noticing. Don't worry, I'll have the things you'll need. It's best you don't have much packed with you, anyway."

"What about getting him out of here?" Thomas looks my way. "he doesn't exactly sound ready for a road trip."

"He's getting out of here, if he has to be carried." Caghan says in a matter-o-fact tone.

"Carried." I say, my tone making it clear that was the only way I'd be leaving this room.

"Don't get cold feet now, Thomas."

Nevertheless, Thomas continues questioning. "Don't you think we'll be just a tad obvious?"

"Not if there's a power failure at Section 15," Caghan says slyly. "so don't worry."

Thomas grunts. "Is it my fault this situation is risky?" he sighs deeply. "I woke up this morning expecting to go with the motions, there's still so much to consider...."

"I have suits and everything you'll need stowed near the surface. Detention ward 3. Here's the access card to the block. This code will allow you to override any door code, but of course you'll only need the one door. Cell 09."

Thomas looks at the card, indecision on his face.

"Thomas?" Nina takes his arm. "what do you think? I won't go without you."

"It's just happening so fast." Thomas shakes his head. "Like it's now or never."

"Now or Never... Or Capital Punishment." Caghan says wistfully.

Thomas gives her a certain disapproving look. "I could do without the reminder of  my possible doom." he said dryly before sighing in resignation. "Well, I suppose... Trey wouldn't have hesitated. Then again, he's an idiot so that's no assurance."

Nina laughs, but the reference made no sense to me. "Lindsay, we're ready to go."

"Wonderful. Give me a second to make the transfer."

This cannot go any further. "If I can interrupt for just a moment—" I snap. I really do not not like the way things are going at all. "I am not ready to go. And I'm not going to. Even if the lights are off, I doubt people are not going to notice you carrying me as I scream through sector 16."

"Then we'll just have to stop you from screaming." Nina says sweetly.

I realise she's instructed my life support system to inject me with a plethora of sleeping drugs.

"You are all going to pay for this."

The drugs override my system completely. The last words I hear before I blacked out completely are from Thomas.

"He really doesn't sound happy about this."


	11. Part 03.1 TREY

**PART 03**

  **::TREY::**

"Cody! Cody!"

"Trey!" A kid is suddenly in front of me. "Do you have time? Let's play soccer!"

I smile kindly. Most of the kids here under my age grew up Underground before they got sent here. They didn't know about soccer till I showed them how. Now I'm the one who rarely has time for it. Most of them reminded me of Nina, with their brown hair and eyes, but none of them were as perceptive as she was.

"Sorry Jack, I'm busy now."

"Aw, you're always busy." Jack pouts. "Will you have time later to continue your story? I wanna know what happens to me after I climbed the big tree."

I had to think about that. I told him the story of Jack and the Beanstalk last time I had a chance to. Somehow, he seems dead set on seeing the main guy as himself since they have the same name. But he can't seem to grasp the concept of a Beanstalk.

"It wasn't a big tree. It's a Beanstalk, just imagine one of Kytes's crops being gigantic, the size of our tower base. And what happens next is—"

"Jack!"

"Aw drat!" Jack yelps, running for it. "Bye Trey! Tell me later!" I see Snowflake crawl under me, hot on the kid's heels.

Lexie and Kytes comes along.

"Damn it! That tyke is good at giving us the slip." Kytes grouses.

"Honestly, kids are cute angels but with horns."

I snicker. "Uh, so demons?" I joke. "Doesn't seem too long ago it was us in their shoes."

"Except we had to take care of ourselves without being told to do so," Lexie huffs, smiling proudly. "We were much more responsible back then—"

Suddenly Rhys's panicked scream comes from somewhere.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT! AH! SNOWFLAKE, GET DOWN FROM THERE, YOU COULD DIE!" He yelped. "KYTES, LEXIE! I BELIEVE IT'S YOUR TURN TO MIND THE CHILDREN! THEY'RE INTERRUPTING MY PRODUCTION!"

_Uh oh._  I cringe.  _An interrupted-from-work Rhys is a Rhys you don't want to meet..._

Both Lexie and Kytes pales. They know this too.

"Heh. So much for responsible." I tease and Lexie scowls, pulling a tongue out. "Good luck to you both."

"Sorry Rhys!" Lexie calls back and runs to the general direction of Rhys's work room.

I catch Kytes's arm before he can follow. "Hey Kyi, have you seen Code around? Leon brought on some new orphans. We need an orientation."

When there are newcomers we have an orientation held for them, in the form of a tour. Usually, the ones doing it includes myself, since they have to be aware who's in charge and who to tell when they've appointed their own Leader and Second-in-Command. Rhys joins in to explain most of our protocols properly since he's the only one efficient enough not to leave anything out. Cody doesn't really do anything official, but his aura always, and I mean  _ALWAYS_ helps the newbies calm down. At first, we thought he had some emotion controlling ability, but believing that he had a very amiable personality that puts anyone at ease sounds more genuine and more... Well, Cody. He's the only one that can do it without overwhelming the especially clammed up ones or making it seem force.

"Not recently, but have you asked Meeko? I last saw him talking to Cody at the lobby, but that was yesterday." Kytes shrugs, then Rhys calls out in complaint about Snowflake. "Whoops. Gotta go, Trey."

I look after Kytes as he goes off. "Alert Rhys about the orientation."

"WHAT?! He's already sore with Snowflake, he's not gonna want to hear that from me!"

I smirk. "Not my problem." I point out. Rhys will apologize, as he always does, for being in a foul mood. It's just the  _during work_ time that he isn't aware of it. "Just remind him this is important, too."

I head back to search for Meeko.

Needless to say, when I found Meeko, I had to leave the orientation to Rhys, because I just got some real bad news told to me regarding Cody's whereabouts. I was ready to be loud about my scolding, but then I realized if the newbies found out something was wrong on their first time here it might make Rhys's job harder welcoming them. So I brought him to an old broom closet to talk.

Plus, if Corrin got wind of this, all hell may break loose. He's way more protective of the kid than any of us are, hell, he's not even as manic when it comes to Lexie. Probably since the girl is spunky enough to handle herself.

"I can't believe you just let him go!"

"I'm sorry! But if there's any other effective way to find a cure for Lori, what else would you expect me to do but let it be?!"

I place a hand on my forehead. "But didn't you even stop to consider Cody's safety? He just turned ten three months ago. Hear me? TEN! He just started his training for outdoor tasks." It took us an entire month to convince Corrin that he should get the training, and he was only forced to agree when Cody himself asked for it when the kid finally got his powers. Even then, Corrin told us specifically not to give him missions too far away from our bases till he was much older.

"You were only ten years old, too when we made you Leader." Meeko holds my gaze. "you were capable."

I narrow my eyes. "That's totally different. I had no choice."

"Neither did I. I couldn't leave Lori, not with his condition getting worse. Since Cody had the same idea, I had to let him go." Meeko frowns, leaning against the wall. "I don't like it either, but wouldn't you have done the same if it were Kytes in danger? You wouldn't be able to leave either, with all your duties. What other choice did I have?"

_Damn it._ Everyone in Genesis Batch knew my debt to Kytes, even the blond himself. Even if Meeko didn't have to reiterate that to make his point, I couldn't argue with that.

"When did he leave?"

"Yesterday," Meeko replies. "a few hours before sunset."

I nod, pressing my ear piece communicator. Even if we have telepathy, it does us no good if the person we need to talk to isn't in our vicinity. Plus, it'd be bad if I told the wrong person like, say, Corrin. That thought makes me shudder. After confirming the contact was Leon, I relayed my message. I instruct Leon to go after Cody, he was our best Scout. I told him to bring Jonah for back up since his shadow travel might be able to give them a Jump-start, even if he can only do one jump, and the resting period depends on how far the distance he covered. I left the part out of Meeko letting him go, since it was irrelevant, and I asked Leon to keep it a private matter.

"Let's hope for the best."

Meeko hangs his head in guilt. "I'm sorry Trey. I really am."

"Nothing to do about it now," I give his shoulder a squeeze. While I'm sore with him, I can't say I'm too upset. Besides, Rhys was right. I didn't have a clue the degree of importance Lori is to him. But if it's anything like how I feel about Nina, then I can afford to sympathize. "we'll just have to make sure no one else finds out about this."

I wish I could say that was easier done, as it is said.

**—o—**

"Cody's done something rash, hasn't he?"

"Huh?"

Honestly, I thought Lori was asleep, like Meeko was on the chair beside him. Corrin advised him rest and gave him some herbal mixture—to help him sleep. Rhys helped him develop it, too. So it should be effective. Lori's been so quiet as well. However, he's awake now and expecting an answer. 

So was Corrin.  _Crap._ "Uh, what makes you think that?" I stall weakly.

"Easy. He hasn't been to see me in ages. And whenever someone's injured on their first few days, he never fails to show up." Lori levels up, so he's resting on an elbow. "So tell me, what is our favorite tyke up to?"

"Yeah Trey," Corrin prompts, as he rotated his shoulder with his one hand massaging it. "I could use a stress reliever."

_Ugh._ If I was ever a good liar in my past life, I would've wanted it resurrected for just this one moment. But these guys knew me the longest up here. So it would be futile if I tried it now. "He went to get a cure for you." I say to Lori.

Corrin raises a brow. "That's odd. I can't picture Code staying put and helping Rhys research." he muses. "not that Rhys would even let him."

"Unless by getting a cure, you mean from the Underground." Lori jokes lightly.

I flinche and walk towards him, farther away from Corrin. "Lori," I place a hand on his shoulder. "he's going to be careful." I couldn't bring myself to look at our Healer's expression as I said that.

"What?" Lori's blinking expression of disbelief wasn't any good a consolation though. "He didn't—no." he looks panicked now, grasping my forearm. "Trey, you're not serious now, are you? That's not even funny! They'll kill him!" He grips my arm as much as his strength can allow. His voice cracks. Whether that was due to his condition or not, I wasn't sure. I wish Meeko would wake up and deal with this himself. 

_That bastard, putting me up to this..._ Then I gotta remember, I let him.

"Shh, calm down man. Cody can take care of himself—"

"NO HE CAN'T!" Corrin breaks in and I could've burned Lori right then. Thank Rhys for these watches. "This is CODY we're talking about! He's the helpless baby I practically raised, damn it!" He looks as though he can't decide whether he wants to break someone's bones—not exaggerating, he really can—or burst into tears. He doesn't do it often anymore as he used to when we were younger, but when he does, it's rather... spectacular.

I side-glance Meeko, who snored lightly.  _Damn, how does he do it?_

I sigh, and chance that Corrin's not gonna break my bones. I hold his shoulder in assurance. He just stares at it intently, like he didn't know how it got there. 

_Well, I moved._ "No Corrin, he  _was_ a helpless baby. But he's gone a long way thanks to you, thanks to all of us. He knows the dangers."

"But even so," Lori's voice is shaky and Corrin is still staring at my hand. "The Underground? Do you really think—?"

I shrug wearily. "Why not? We don't have the answers. They might."

"They didn't have the answers years ago." Corrin chokes. "Trey, what if—?" he couldn't continue.

So Lori does it instead. "You remember, don't you?" he frowns. "What they did..."

I do. I much rather I didn't.

**_[EIGHT YEARS AGO]_ **

**There were hundreds, maybe even a thousands of us kids. We were the parent less ones, the idle mouths that were supposedly draining the city's resources. We were being herded out—there is no other way to put it—across the wasteland surrounding the entrance to the city, with the city guards following us on four wheel drives, nice and safe in their climate-controlled protective suits while we walked. If we stopped or lagged, as many of us were starting to do, they stopped and forced us to continue. We've already walked farther than most of us had walked in our lives. More than we were used to—and on terrain that was new and hard. The sun stung our eyes, still used to half-lit tunnels.**

**Everything was different. The sky so high above, the wide open space, the intense feeling of insecurity. Already a few kids had broken down sobbing. The guards had roughly forced them back to their feet, yelling at us all to keep moving. I think I'd have been terrified—if I hadn't been worried about Kytes.**

**Somewhere among the rush in the mass of pushing bodies, I'd lost Kytes. He'd been trailing beside me one moment, then I looked back and he was gone. I didn't know what happened to him, whether someone had simply pushed in front and he'd lost me or whether he'd been one of those that couldn't keep up and dropped back.**

**I had to find him. He'd given up his whole life of security for Nina and I had to make that up to him. I also had to make it up to Thomas.**

**"Kytes!" There was no question about it. He had to be all right. I wouldn't let it be any other way. "Kytes!"**

**"Trey? TREY!"**

**"Meeko?" He was an old neighbors of ours, from back when we still had parents. I heard he and his brother lost their mother during evacuation proceedings and that their father died shortly before this expedition. It happened so recent, we didn't have a chance to share rooms at the Orphanage before we were rounded up for this exile. I pushed over to him and caught myself. "Hey, you all right?"**

**That hadn't been what I intended to say. But something about him made me pause, my flippant greeting unsaid.**

**"I've lost Lori!" Meeko blurted out in a panic. "what am I gonna do?! He's a push over without me to—"**

**I cut him off. "Whoa, whoa. Give the guy more credit. I'm sure he's doing okay." On closer inspection, those dirt smudges on his cheek looked a lot like tear stains. "Hey watch it!" I got jostled hard from behind.**

**"Keep moving!"**

**I made sure to drag Meeko along with me. "C'mon Meeko, sooner or later, we'll havta stop for a break and then we'll find your brother." It was hard to decide whether to watch the road or my feet.**

**"But what if he's all scared on his own?"**

**I laughed as if he just pulled a joke, to encourage him. "Lori? Nah. He wasn't even scared of Jenny. Remember that time we were playing soccer with Tom in the service tunnels, before he broke that vase? She fell over when she saw us and tore her favorite shirt." I said.**

**"She said Tom pushed her."**

**"Pushed her? He was on the other side of the tunnel! Still, I guess that didn't make her any less scary when she chased after us like a mad man. But Lori stood up to her and backed us up."**

**The guards stopped their vehicles. "Okay. We'll take a break here." They talked among themselves.**

**Most people around me just sat down where they were, even Meeko. I would have liked to join them, my feet were ready to drop off! But with most people sitting down, now would be perfect time to find...**

**"Kytes!"**

**"Trey!"**

**If Kytes is surprised when I pull him into a hug, he doesn't show it. "Don't ever wander off like that again, got it?!" I scolded him, and it makes me a little homesick, cause it was in that tone mom would always use to me and what I occasionally used on Nina, since they died. "You got me worried!"**

**"I'm sorry!" Kytes said immediately. "this big guy pushed in front of me and I couldn't see you anymore."**

**"That's okay then." I patted his shoulder, and turned towards Meeko. "You remember him right? Meeko Morrison?"**

**Kytes nodded. "Yeah! The crazy wild guy with a less crazier clone." he answered and I burst out laughing.**

**"Hey..." Meeko made a look. "who ya callin' crazy? And I do not have a clone, I got a twin..." his shoulders slouched. "'course I don't got him for now."**

**I snickered, but my smile falls as I got a good look at the two. They're not even ten yet. Kytes just turned six, Meeko is probably about eight now. They must be even more exhausted than I was. "Why don't we take a break now?" I suggested, mostly for their sake. "we'll look for Lori later, 'kay Meeko? No use getting' tired out. We're prolly gonna need enough rest to keep walking when we start off again."**

**Meeko nodded slowly. "All right..." he sighed. "if you say so."**

**"It's so quiet here." Kytes said suddenly as he settled down.**

**Meeko and I looked at him. "Quiet?" We repeated and wonder if Kytes has gone nuts. There's crying, talking and shouting all over the place.**

**"Well, you know," Kytes shrugged. "there's no machine noise."**

**He's right. I hadn't even realize it before. "Well that suits me!" I said dismissively. "now I don't have to try to sleep over top of it all night!"**

**"I guess..." Meeko said, his tone half-hearted. Kytes looks just as unconvinced.**

**I huffed, puffing my chest. "Aw, cmon you two! Who knows what living without technology is like?" I grinned, trying to pump them up. "You might even like it better!"**

**They looked at me with wide eyes. "Without technology?" Meeko sounded worried.**

**_Way to go, Trent._ I scolded myself. They probably never even considered that possibility yet. I mean, even I haven't till I just mentioned it. "Yeah, like camping!"**

**"Camping?"**

**I nodded. "I was eight when it happened and we had to go underground. Before we did though, my folks took us out to some far off place. We built a fire, slept in tents, and it was fun! Even Nina loved it."**

**"Line up and we'll give you all a drink!" The Guards called.**

**I stood up. "Hey. You two stay here and rest, got it? I'll bring you back some drinks, okay?" I grinned.**

**"'kay." They both chimed.**

**The line's quite long but I get in fast. The guards let me take two when I explain I'm getting them for a friend. I went back to them and give Kytes and Mesh drinks I promised. I returned to get my own but the guards remember me from before and refuses to give me another drink no matter what I say. In the end, I'm lifted bodily out of the way and dumped several meters off. I get up, pulling a tongue out at the guard's back, even if it does nothing.**

**"Honestly," I huffed. "does it hurt them to give out water? They've been pushing us around all day, you'd think it was the least they could do..."**

**"Excuse me?" I blinked at a short, bronzed-haired kid who has placed himself in front of me. "I couldn't help but noticed what happened before. It's highly unfair that you should be disadvantaged for taking care of your friends so—" I stared in pleasant disbelief as he pulls out a canteen. "would you like to share my water?"**

**He doesn't need to ask twice. "Thanks a bunch!" I tell him when I return it. "how'd you get that?"**

**"It struck me as the sort of object it would be fortuitous to have on the surface." he shrugs. "I brought quite a few useful things with me."**

**I continued to stare. "F-fo-four-four-two..." I gave up. I can't even say the word, forget figuring out the meaning. We looked around at our group—we looked like bed ragged refugees. "I should get back to my friends."**

**"Yes, you probably should." The boy looked a little sad. "it was nice to meet you, um..."**

**I looked at him. "I'm Trent Everhart, but just Trey will do." I smiled.**

**"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Rhysell Gildean. Likewise, just call me Rhys." He nodded at me.**

**We stared at each other, and I figured he doesn't really have anywhere to go back to. "Uh," I rubbed the back of my head. "you wouldn't want to join us, would you?" I asked impulsively. "I mean, you could if—"**

**"It would probably be advantageous," Rhys agreed readily. "I feel if we intend to survive, close networking would be vital."**

**I stared at Rhys blankly. He seemed a bit younger than me, judging by height. But he used big words like an adult... A really smart adult. _Was this kid for real?_ I shook my head. "So should I take that as a yes?" I noticed the rest of his baggage and offered to help him carry them. "let me help you with those." Rhys carried a pack already, so I took the stuff bundled together in a sheet and...  _Is this a tent? Sweet!_**

**We walked together.**

**"I hope you don't mind that we got two younger kids to handle."**

**Rhys shook his head. "Not at all. The more the merri—" he trailed off as something tackles him from the side.**

**"RHYS!" Meeko beamed. I blinked, finding both guys on the ground. And Kytes appeared beside me, too. Guess they got restless. "how ya doing buddy?!"**

**Rhys could barely move. "Are you referring to before or after the unexpected assault?" he sounds slightly muffled, but I guess trying to talk with someone on top of you could be a bit difficult.**

**"You know each other?"**

**"Yeah!" Meeko grinned, "his father paid for my Taekwando classes just so Rhys can have a sparring partner! It was fun."**

**"Y-es!" Rhys grunted as he finally pushed Meeko off him. "till we also took archery class once and he decided I was better for a target practice than the actual target."**

**Meeko pouted. "You gotta let that go, buddy. It was an accident." he rolled his eyes.**

**"Hey, hey, hey." Kytes tugged on my shirt. I looked down to him. "What's going to happen to us, Trey?"**

**I shrugged and turned to Rhys. "Do you have an idea?" I'm not smart but it didn't take a genius to figure out Rhys is.**

**"Well at some point the guards will probably just leave us and then we'll be on our own." Rhys placed a hand on his chin. "after all, they gain nothing from remaining here with us. Still, there is the matter of whatever creatures the surface is home to that we have to consider. I theorize that most aren't friendly, if any at all."**

**Kytes looked more confused. "... What?"**

**"It means we'll have trouble." I dumbed down. "but let's not think about it till we actually have to."**

**Meeko nudges me. "Hey, what's that kid doing?"**

**A boy a bit older than me had been working his way surreptitiously past the guards. He was now quite clearly heading towards the general direction of the city. For some reasons, Rhys looked concerned. I nudged and give him a questioning gaze when he turns to me.**

**He sighed. "I do not approve of his choice of actions. I'm sure there's no chance of his being allowed to the city." he told me.**

**"Huh? How come?"**

**"Well, the surface is polluted right? Now that we've been out here, exposed without the luxury of suits, we're polluted, too. There's no way they'll let us back."**

**Meeko looked mischievous. "We could sneak in." he grinned, but a crossed look from Rhys warns him not to try it.**

**"I don't like this," Kytes whined plaintively. "Trey~"**

**I looked over. "Uh oh. I think the guards have seen him, too." I said. The guards are going into a huddle.**

**"Do you think we should warn him?" Meeko gets ready to call out to the guy but Rhys catches his arm, looking pale. "What's up man?"**

**Rhys shook his head. "We're too late." he said.**

**"Right you lot, pay attention!" The head guard hollered. "This is the end of the road. From here on in, you're on your own! Don't expect any help from the city. You won't get it. If you try to come back—" he's got a gun and it's aimed on the kid.**

**No way. He's not going to—he wouldn't—then I realise he is.**

**I grabbed Kytes by his shoulders and spin him around, sort of pulling him towards me as I do so he ends up with his face in my shirt and I'm holding on to him as if I could protect him from this and there's this enormous noise that gradually stops. The kid staggers and falls.**

**He doesn't get up _ever_ again, someone screams, a few are crying even harder.**

**"Keep moving!" The Guards shout. "you can stop when it's nightfall. But if you try to come back..."**

**Kytes pulls back from me. "What do we do? What's going on? Trey—" he asked in a rushed tone.**

**I gritted my teeth. "We gotta keep moving, Kytes. That's all we can do..."**

**Honestly, that kid didn't deserve. Then again, did any of us deserve this treatment just for not having parents? Meeko is trembling, so Rhys has a firm hand on his shoulder, trying not to throw up himself. Kytes looked at all three of us.**

**"But... that kid... What happened to..." he turned his head slowly and I pull him after me. "Ah! Trey?!"**

**"Don't look back." I said sharply.**

**"A capital suggestion." Rhys followed us, pulling Meeko along with him, tightening his hold on the redhead's hand. He really doesn't sound good, and he doesn't look any better. Maybe I should've had him turned towards me too—no, Rhys is intelligent. Even if he hadn't seen it, he'll figure out what had happen. "We should—"**

**Kytes pulled away from me. "Wait, my hat!" he yelped and I saw the said fisherman hat that tumbled off his head and flew back towards the guards.**

**"Crap, Kytes no! Come back!" My heart raced. "Kytes!" I took off after him. The guard has his gun trained on him— "Kytes!" I pulled him out of the way. "he was just trying to get his hat, he wasn't trying anything else!"**

**The guard glared at me. "No one goes pass this line." he said.**

**"But my hat—" Kytes protested. "Tommy gave it to me, it's special!"**

**"Please?" I pleaded with him now. "it's a parting gift from his brother. It's very important."**

**The guard grunted. "Oh fine." he puts the gun down. "but only the little one can go passed, got it?"**

**"I'll wait right here Kyi!" I called as he pushed forward. The guard and I give each other dubious looks and then I looked away. Then something caught my attention. "Eh?"**

**A short and black haired girl is trying to argue with one of the guards. "But you don't understand! I have a guardian, I do have a reason to stay! I'm not meant to be here, this is all a mistake!"**

**"Sure," The guards are not exactly sympathetic.**

**"But you must listen to me! I demand to be taken back to the City—"**

**I saw the guards exchanging looks. "'bout time for another example?"**

**"You said it." One raised a gun.**

**_Oh no!_ "Hey, there you are!" I grabbed hold of the girl's hand. "I've been looking all over for you! Now why don't you come and join the others?" I tugged her away from the guards.**

**"Hey!" The girl looked indignant. "What are you—?!"**

**Kytes came back. "Hey Trey!" he said with a bright smile. "I found my hat!"**

**"That's great Kytes, now how about grabbing her other hand?"**

**The girl squealed as we succeed in dragging her after us. "Creep! Let me go!" We released her when I see Meeko and Rhys coming our way. "Just what were you doing?!" she demanded.**

**"What do you think? Saving your life!" I scrunched up my nose. Jeez, girls are always so whiny. What was it that Thomas's Uncle always said? _Women complicated things._ "You're welcome by the way."**

**She huffed. "I was all okay until I lost my brother somewhere during your release and this happened!" she snapped in frustration. "I'm trying to go home and you—"**

**"Alexis?" Meeko came in, his tone of voice a little sour. "Alexis Cole?"**

**The girl blinked. "Huh?" she turned towards him. "Oh, hi. Meeko, is it? And... Oh Rhys!" She suddenly beamed. "you're here too!" she went in for a hug.**

**"Woah!" Rhys toppled over once more. "what's with you people and tackling me?"**

**I raised a brow before looking at Meeko.** **"She's a good friend of Lori." he rolled his eyes, before going to help the two untangle themselves. "Wait a minute," he stepped in between Rhys and the girl. "why would you be here? Lori told me you still got your cousin to look after you and your brother."**

**She scoffed. "I know," She glared at me. "And I was trying to explain that to those dumbbells, until this moron interrupted."**

**I crossed my arms. "The guard was about to make another example out of her," I pointed out. "so I thought I'd do her a favor and save her life—of course, if I'd known she was going to be a whiny brat, I wouldn't have bothered—"**

**_Thwap_ _!_ **

**I placed a hand up to my stinging cheek. Meeko snickered behind a hand and the girl folded her arms, offended. "I'm not a whiny brat, and don't call me brat, _brat_!" she pulled a tongue out.**

**"Of all the ungrateful—"**

**Rhys held my shoulder and pulled me back. "Be that as it may," he started. "I'm afraid Trey was probably right. The guards won't let you back to the city now, Lexie. No matter how many relatives you have. Even if both your parents had been alive."**

**"What do you mean?"**

**Meeko waved a dismissive hand. "Rhys gave us the rundown earlier," he shrugged. "the gist is, if you've been out here, you're polluted, see? You can't go home, simple as that."**

**Lexie looked back and forth from us, then she bursts into tears. "I want my brother! I want Corrin!"**

**"Really Meek? Really? You know how she can get when she throws a tantrum." Rhys complained.**

**Meeko looked chagrined. "Sorry..."**

**"We're gonna have to wait for her to calm down..." Rhys sighed as she patted her back awkwardly.**

**I paused at that. "Wait... And how long is this gonna take?"**

**Lexie continued sobbing. Rhys gave me a look and even though he didn't give me an answer, I figured we'd be here for a while.**

**When moved along, we were lucky to catch up to the group before twilight. I've tried distracting Kytes from what happened before. Rhys and Meeko kept talking to Lexie to get her mind off things. I kept my distance, she could really hit for a girl. Meeko was doing okay, but I figured we better find Lori before he realizes it's been a while.**

**After another hour, a lot of people stopped walking. There seemed to be a debate about what to do next. Some thought we should keep walking until night like the guards said, some says it wouldn't matter what we did. We sat and watched two older boys contending for leadership push each other around. And I think it's stupid. Are they really ready to take the responsibility of shouldering the lives of everyone here? I think about the idea and shiver.**

**"What do you think we should do, Trey?" Kytes looked at me with his bright, baby blue eyes.**

**I chewed my lip. "I'm not sure. I think we should just wait till we know what we're up against before—"**

**"Excuse me?" A boy with shaggy, slate-colored hair and cloudy gray eyes approaches us, with a baby in his arms. His brother, perhaps? "I'm looking for someone—"**

**Lexie stood up at the voice. "CORRIN?! YOU'RE HERE TOO!?" She gawked.**

**"Alexis?!" The guy blinked. "The hell, is that really you? What are you doing here?"**

**"I could ask the same!" Lexie went towards him, clapping his hands. "but it's great! We weren't separated! We're still in this together!"**

**The guy—Corrin?—smiled dryly. "Well, that's one silver lining, I guess."**

**"But... where'd you get the baby?"**

**Corrin looked down at the infant with a soft expression. "Oh, him?" he frowned. "poor guy is kinda the reason I'm here—"**

**"Sooo—" I drawled, interjecting myself. "is she the one you've been looking for?"**

**Corrin blinked remembering the reason he came up to us in the first place. "Oh, no. I didn't even know Lexie was up here," he said. "It's for a kid I just met. I'm looking for a certain Meeko Morrison?"**

**"Morrison?" Meeko got to his feet. "are you looking for me?"**

**In answer, the guy turned around and yelled. "Hey! Is he your brother? He looks like you—" he trailed off as a new person came to view.**

**"LORI!" Meeko grabbed Lori in something between a hug and a headlock. "why'd you go off and scare me like that?!"**

**Lori struggled in his brother's arms. "Don't pin this on me. You left me behind! I told you to wait cause I've been fixing the buckles of my boots!" he protested. "you're always rushing!"**

**"Pipe down you two," Corrin scolded them. "I just finally got Cody to sleep."**

**I made a look. "Wait a minute, how come whiny Princess here knows Meeko but you don't?" Lexie threw another glare at me. "What, I didn't call you a brat at least."**

**"Although she can sometimes get like that." Corrin chuckled, and I grinned at him, already figuring I like the brother better. "Our parents died a long time ago and our cousin took us in. In gratitude, I chose to stay home with our cousin and help out around the house—er, that is, around the unit. I also babysit her kids whenever she goes to work since her husband died during evacuation. So I don't get out much. Lexie doesn't tell me much about her day or who she plays with either."**

**Lexie shrugged. "It's not like you'd actually know who they were, anyway." she said. "And I don't just play, excuse you." she pulled out her tongue. "Lori cooks at their place because their dad usually came home late. I help him out, because his brother's always out with Rhys. And the two of us met when we brought them lunch together one time." she beamed at Rhys. "It was delicious because I helped, right?"**

**Rhys smiled wearily. "Ehe, it was certainly a unique flavor." he said.**

**"Right, okay~" I said, feeling a little sorry for Rhys. By the sound of it, Lori could do without Lexie's extra help. "so this isn't your brother, by the sound of it?"**

**Corrin smiled dryly. "Well, yeah. See, it happened like this. Lexie wanted to see Lori one last time before the orphans were all released to the surface so I went with her. But in the crowd we got separated." he started. "while trying to find her, I saw that they were separating the baby from this other guy who had the same blue hair that he has... well, with the strands of hair he does have already, at least. So I figured he was a brother, looked too young to be the father. His brother didn't seem to like it. I mean, I wouldn't have." He looked at Lexie once. "I eavesdropped to try and figure out why'd they do that, but all I heard was they were gonna dump this poor little guy along the way since they thought a baby this young wouldn't survive for long. So I just had to volunteer to take him, but they wouldn't even give me time to get our cousin to adopt the kid. So I had to leave immediately with him and didn't even get to say good bye to Lexie or our cousin." He looked at his sister again and smiled. "well at least now it's only one person I didn't get to say good bye to."**

**Lexie beamed, hugging her brother without jostling the baby. And I'm a little wistful. I guess no matter how irritating the girl seemed, the same way Nina can sometimes get annoying, I guess I rather be putting up with her, than putting up with this situation without her. Sadly, you can't have everything.**

**"As for the brother," Corrin suddenly continued, "the best I could guess was that they still needed him for something but it wasn't the case for the baby."**

**"How savage." Rhys remarked. "that they would separate an infant from who may be his only family left. As if it wasn't bad enough they released him here."**

**I sighed, even with the big words, I got his message. "Well, I guess it's enough to say that the ones running our city are jerks."**

**"I couldn't agree more." Rhys nodded solemnly.**

**Corrin smiled, nudging me. "As opposed to you," he remarked. "I mean, you looked after my sister despite her bratty tendencies—"**

**"We're back to that again?" Lexie scowled.**

**Corrin just laughed. "—and all these other guys. Plus, you got two pairs of separated siblings back together."**

**"Uh, well, yeah, you know—" I shrugged bashfully, which hardly ever happens. I'm normally only faze when a pretty girl talks to me, because the only girls I'm used to are the little sister types. Something about the guy makes me glad to be praised by him. "I try not to be a jerk..."**

**Corrin nodded. "Nicely put." He said. "Um, do you mind if my sister and I just hang around? I don't know anyone else here. And it'll be easier to take care of this little guy if there were more of us."**

**"That's fine by me." I shrugged. "how do you others feel?"**

**Rhys nodded. "We could always use another sensible person."**

**"I like him." Kytes nodded.**

**Meeko agreed, his one arm still around Lori. "Why not? He took care of Lori. Whatever floats your boat, kid."**

**"Uh, he's older than you bro. You can't call him a kid. You act like a kid more times than Kytes does." Lori pointed out. "Oh, and yeah, I don't mind."**

**Meeko squeezed Lori. "HEY!"**

**"Then it's settled," I hit a fist to my open palm. "no matter what happens, from now on, we stick together. And we look after each other, deal?"**

**"DEAL!"**

**Of course, our troubles were just beginning. We stayed up late into the night, talking about each other, we ended up oversleeping. The following day, we were left behind. What's worst, we ran into wolves. We left Lexie with the baby along with Kytes outside a cave to search for food. I told them not to go in the cave though, because it gave me a funny feeling. That's when we ran into those wolves. Rhys was nearly eaten when they suddenly appeared! With no other option, I played bait. When I got their attention long enough, it gave Meeko the chance to carry him off, Lori and Corrin following him. When I met up with the others later in the cave, I thought we were home free. But the wolves found us! We had no choice but to go into the cave. For some reasons, they didn't follow us in. So we went in a little deeper to be safe.**

**It wasn't till a bit later that things got weird.**

**// _I think they're gone now..._ // Lexie said, but she sounded strange. Or at least, very loud. Sure she was usually like that, but now it was like she was directly in your ear.**

**Rhys turned to her. "How could you be so sure?" he asked.**

**"Huh?" Lexie blinked. "Of what?"**

**Rhys was confused, so were we. "You said you think they're gone now." he pointed out.**

**"Huh?!" She widened her eyes. "How did you know what I was thinking?!"**

**I made a look. "Thinking? We heard you say it."**

**"I heard it, too." Kytes backed me up. "maybe you said it out loud without realizing it."**

**Lexie still looked confused. "I guess..."**

**"Phew. Well, if they're gone let's get out of here." I said, fanning myself with my shirt. "it's kinda hot in here."**

**Now they stared at me. "Dude, it's totally chilly." Meeko made a look. "you got a fever or something?"**

**"Huh?" I blinked, feeling my forehead. "No, I feel just fine. Hmm, must be from the running earlier."**

**It wasn't till much later that we understood just what happened on that day, inside the cave. Till I started making fire come out of my body, and Rhys started freaking out when he saw sparks coming off his hands and fingertips. It was in the tent when it happened and we all had just got back together with the rest of the group. Rhys ran out of the tent in panic and lightning would shoot out of his hands that it scared everyone else. I was alarmed by my own body, Cody, the baby Corrin took in, didn't stop crying. When Rhys calmed down enough with Meeko trying to get him to breathe properly, everyone started ganging up on us. This other kid called Peter even tried to kill Rhys, he threw a rock to his head!**

**Rhys was knocked unconscious but I thought he got killed. So I got real mad and then... And then...**

**Honestly, I really don't know. Because when I finally came to, the only thing I knew was the tent had burned down and we were being forced to leave—Rhys and I. Of course, the others left with us.**

**"You know we could've convinced them Trey and Rhys weren't bad." Lori said quietly. "if Meeko hadn't attacked Peter for suggesting it."**

**Meeko huffed irritably, shifting Rhys at his back who is still unconscious. But since he also brought a first aid kit, and thank goodness it didn't burn down with the tent, Corrin got to bandage him up. "He tried to kill my best friend and now he was forcing them both to leave. I may be rash but I stick up for my buds." he protested.**

**"They wouldn't have understood and let us stay either way..." Rhys stirred and begun to speak. "even I don't understand it—what happened to Trey and myself."**

**Meeko flinched, startled. "Oh. Hey man, you're up." he mused. "Uh, what do you mean?" he let him down but continued to support him.**

**"Something in that cave... It changed us." Rhys said. "It did something to us... And it probably affected you guys too, but the effects have yet to show."**

**I looked down. "So that's it then..." I sighed. "I'm a monster." I said dejectedly. No one said anything for the longest time. I was surprised when I felt a tiny hand hold mine.**

**"My mommy and daddy died in a fire accident, and I always got scared when I'm near it but I'm not scared of you, Trey." Kytes smiled at me. "you've taken good care of me."**

**Corrin cuts in. "—Of all of us. You took us in one by one, you allowed yourself to play as bait to save Rhys," he walked closer. The baby is awake now, whining. Instead of frowning like he usually did when Cody acted up , Corrin placed him in my arms. After a minute, Cody started calming down. "you can even make Cody calm down faster than I can, and I've held on to him longer." he chuckled. "Those acts are not ones done by monsters. Besides Trey, a monster doesn't have friends."**

**"And we ain't chopped liver, Trey!" Meeko inserted.**

**Kytes nodded eagerly. "You've been there for me since day one Trey, so I'm here for you as well!" He said with resolve.**

**"We're counting on you, as well, Trey." Lori smiled. "Don't bail on us now, you've gotten us this far."**

**Even Lexie is trying to cheer me up. "Man up!" she giggled. "if Rhys says we'll all end up the same way then what's wrong if you get a head start?"**

**Rhys walked over to me and placed a hand behind my back. "You've got us behind you, Trey, no matter what happens." he smiled. "so lead the way."**

**I started to smile. "All right then," I grinned. "then how about we get some food? I'll start the fire you guys find something to barbecue!"**

**"Right!"**

**[END OF FLASHBACK]**

"We survived, though." I tell them both. "remember that, we learned how and we survived. Cody will be fine," I looked right into Corrin's eyes. "you trusted me then, could you still trust me in this?"

Corrin holds my gaze before managing a weak smile. He places his hand over my own that was still on his shoulder. "I couldn't stop trusting you even if I tried."

"Well, we'll have to trust Cody, too." Lori says with a sigh.

Corrin moves away, smacking his face once. "Yeah, we have to believe in him a little harder, that especially goes for me." he exhales. "in any case, you need to get some sleep. Lori, give the mixture a chance to work."

Lori smirks, knowing as well as we do that there's not much it can do but delay the inevitable. But he closes his eyes anyway and rests once more.

// _Trey,_ // Corrin uses telepathy. It was a byproduct of all our powers so anyone who's up here can do it.

// _Yeah?_ //

// _Next time, please come visit Lori only if you need to. But please try to avoid any contact._ //

I swallow thickly. If he's that bad... // _How long do you think?_  //

// _A week? Maybe ten days. Unless Cody gets back in time with the cure... If there really is one.._.//

And the chances of Cody returning at all are very slim to begin with.


	12. Part 03.2 CODY

**::CODY::**

**[ _TIME REVERSE, Sunset a day before_ ]**

It's getting dark. I rise up a little from my low crouch in the bushes. They won't be able to see me as well in the dark and if I stick to the shadows. I'll be an almost impossible target. I'm sure they want to try and shoot me but they won't risk wasting their bullets not if I'm staying back and not trying to duck past into the gateway.

When I first made it back to the entrance area I was so relieved I got reckless. I mean, really. I actually started running forward! Luckily I didn't get close because the guards reminded me why no one who came from here tries going near anymore—by shooting at me. I ducked into the forest and they kept their guns pointed that way, not letting me get close enough to talk.

I've been waiting for night time so I can try to ask for help. I passed time by watching the guards. They talk and laugh, like what's happening up here is some weird joke that only they can find funny. I wonder how funny they'd find it after facing a Rabid bear on a rampage, even that thought freaks Meeko out. That makes me smile a little. I take a look at their clothes, grey contamination suits, boots, helmets—all stuff that keeps them from being polluted by the surface. I've been infected by Surface R's so called pollution ever since I can remember and I don't think it's bad at all. I also think it's funny that they call their outfit contamination suits, like the suits that protects them are contaminated themselves. They should call them anti-contamination suits; that seems to make more sense.

I think it's dark enough to sneak out. Moving slowly, I slipped out of the bushes and slowly approach. It's all concentration again. Concentrate on my movements, concentrate on my footsteps... Always concentrate. I click a button on my Red watch and check to see that both gauges are empty of bars. Good.

Concentration. It's super important, and I've never forgotten. Not after my first time. A few months ago, after I've turned from nine to ten.

_**[Flashback]** _

**"Is it safe to come back?" I peered into our old base, looking for any Rabid creatures that had attacked it the last time we were staying here. The Scouts said it was cleared, but you can never be one hundred percent sure. As Rhys said, you can only be ninety-nine point nine percent sure with these things... whatever that means. "is there Mana whatever left over?"**

**Besides me, Rhys shook his head. "It wouldn't make any sort of difference if there were," he answered, a wry grin on his face. "we've already undergone some rather significant changes. I believe that this is as far as we can go unless it gets beneath our skin."**

**"Whatever you say, dude." Meeko scratched his head.**

**We have a hard time understanding how Rhys explains things but we at least get the general idea. Right now, I think he meant that the radiation will no longer affect us much since we've already gotten used to it. We usually take his word for it since he finds out a lot of things way before us. When I was still a baby, on our first year up, even then he was the first to guess that they've gotten their abilities from being affected by the radiation. It was Trey and him who first had them, the rest followed in a few months. We try to remember what skill each of us have whenever we might need that in a sticky situation. Trey can make fire, Rhys can do anything that involves static and it means he can make lightning and electricity. Corrin involves body stuff, so it means he can heal, mend bones—or break them, but he rarely does, Meeko produces clones of himself, Lori can go through any non-living things but needs to try harder to go through any living thing and only if they're stationary, Lexie can sense things that has radiation and track its location. Sometimes, she can tell what type of thing it is but only if she's actually seen it herself beforehand. Kytes can communicate with nature, and to an extent, control them. Up until now, they were the only ones who had powers. The newbies, like myself, haven't developed ours yet.**

**Corrin laid a hand on top of my head before brushing passed. "It looks safe enough, let's see now—"**

**"Wait Corrin!" Trey got off his low crouch when our healer stepped out from where he was hiding. "we don't know if—"**

**We knew a second later because one of the Rabid rabbits that had driven us out before jumped out at Corrin, landing on his upper half with a growl and knocking him to the ground.**

**"Corrin!"**

**I tried to run forward but Kytes pulled me back. "Don't Cody, you could get attacked too!"**

**"But momma needs help!"**

**I know Corrin's not my mom and I know they're usually girls, but he's always been the one there for me. Of course we all looked out for each other, but not the way Corrin has always done it with me. He even always has been more patient in explaining stuff to me than Rhys is. And when he first told me about parents, about moms and dads, I pointed it out to him that he was acting like a mom with how he looked out for me and how he's hesitant about me starting training. So I asked if I could call him that sometimes. He turned a little shy when I did so I was gonna take it back but he said if I wanted to, I could.**

**So I do, like now.**

**"Let go!" I ripped my arm out of Kytes's grip and tried to run forward again. Rhys stopped me this time. "He needs help!"**

**Trey and Meeko are on the assist, but then more of those mean Rabid rabbits get in their way and keep them busy. I can tell Trey was really pissed, even more than usual. Corrin was doing his best to prevent the rabbit from biting or even scratching his skin. Good thing his sleeves were long and protected him better but he really needed to do something about the creature on him. The thing grabbed on his hair and pulled hard, and he let out a little wince of pain and his eyes were tearing.**

**"Stop! Don't do that, you're hurting him! Stop hurting momma!" I cried, struggling with Rhys.**

**My thoughts were swinging around my head... I couldn't even think anymore. I was afraid and all that kept going through my mind over and over was _don't hurt him, don't hurt him_ —**

**Then it happened. The stones and broke pieces of wood jerked to life suddenly and moved on their own. I couldn't think straight, but something in the back of my mind told me to move my arms towards the creatures. Instincts, maybe?**

**_Don't hurt him... Don't hurt..._ **

**Trey yelled as he got pelted with the sticks and stones before they hit the creatures. It's weird, I've been thinking of how I wanted the debris to attack the rabbits and not Trey, and it did just that. The creatures realizes the attacks and get off Corrin at last. Trey ran over quickly and helping Corrin up before getting him out of danger. I'm glad he's okay, I think of all those scary things in my nightmares that only Corrin can assure me aren't real and wonder how I can believe that if he was gone.**

**Suddenly, the creatures make a shriek of terror as they saw something, I couldn't make it out cause my vision was blurring. The last thing I saw was them dashing off before I passed out.**

**_[END OF FLASHBACK]_ **

After that, I'm taught to concentrate on using my powers and also on not using them. It was difficult at first because I had to control two type of abilities. I can make things move without touching them, but I have to try real hard to do it to people. And I can cause anything I imagine to come real and solid, temporarily. It was hard, but thinking of how I could hurt my friends like I did with Trey motivated me to give my best.

Anyway, the guards don't notice me coming, not even a bit. That's a great way to get in to danger carelessly up here. You always have to know when something's getting close, just the thought that they could catch me scares me, my heart's beating hard. I don't want to die. I've lived through Rabid attacks and real bad radioactive storms. If I'm going to die, I want it to be when all my friends are around. Not like this. Not when I'm on my own and no one will know if I get shot and I'd turn into a lonely skeleton while Rabid animals feed on my flesh—

 _No, no, no!_  I shake my head and keep moving forward.

I won't die, I promised Meeko. I won't let them kill me. Besides, I need something to help Lori. I'm near earshot now. I suck in a breath of courage and call out. "Are you gonna listen to me yet?"

It's kinda funny seeing them trying to find my voice, and they're way off from where I am. Bad hearing. I feel more confident.

"I don't wanna try and get in, I'm a good boy, just listen for me a sec." I say, hoping with everything in me that they'd listen now. "I just want to talk, please listen."

"One of them laughs. "Talk?" he asks. I don't understand why that should be funny. "you are talking."

I'm upset now.

"Fine, talk. But don't come closer, or we'll shoot."

I glance at the gate leading down into the underground settlement. It's dark and spooky. I'd never go in even if I needed to.

"I need a doctor or a really smart guy. Can you get me one? My friend needs help."

They laugh again. Seriously, where's the joke?

"Oh yeah, sure kid! Since we have our Doctors come out everyday to treat savages."

They snicker, like they've just insulted me. But I don't think I even know what savage means.

"Please! I need help!"

"Sure kid, and I need a raise."

They're not even listening. I'm getting more upset now but I forced myself to calm down, breathe, and concentrate...

"Who cares kid? Your friend is a gonna die anyway, what with all the pollution—"

Now I'm crying. I didn't catch the rest of what he said, but he was implying that Lori will die... And he didn't care. I'm concentrating real hard to keep my powers but it's not at all easy when I'm emotional, and the noise from the alarm signal of my watch isn't helping either—

The guards cry out in shock as their guns jump violently off their arms and unto the ground. It triggers itself—or by me—and shot through between them, barely missing them and the bullets get stuck on trees.

 _No,_  I think in dismay.  _I gave myself away... What do I do?_ Trey would know what to do. But I'm not Trey.

One guards glares at where he thinks I am. "Think he's gone?"

"Doubt it." Well, at least they're taking me seriously now. Of course, that may mean they'll be more serious in killing me. "Hey kid." The guard calls, his tone less rude than before.

I'm hopeful. "Yes sir?" I call back. I look up to see a man leaving.

"Aren't you going to tell us who you are? Who's your friend?"

I think he's trying to distract me from killing him. I'd never do that, though. It was wrong and Corrin would be disappointed in me. "Cody. My friend is Lori but he's not with me now." I say. All I get for a response is silence. I wish Meeko went with me now. I wouldn't be as scared.

"All right Cody," a new voice interrupts my thoughts. "come out where we can see you, and we'll send out a doctor to talk with you."

"YAY!"—but I don't get up—"wait. How do I know I'm not gonna get shot?" I'm not that gullible.

There's talking I don't hear and then all the guns are thrown down. But they still guard the entrance. I wished they'd believe me that I didn't wanna go there.

"Okay," I stand up slowly and walked a little closer. They don't grab their guns. "where's the doctor?"

The new guy urges me. "Come over here," he say. "he isn't going out the entrance, but he'll meet you by the face of the tunnel."

"Uhm..." I'm a bit nervous, I didn't even want to be near it, but I remind myself that I'm doing all this to save Lori. "I don't see anyone by the tunnel yet... Except your—um, guard friends..." I stall.

There's another voice. "I'll be there in a second."

I look toward the tunnel. A tall man is hurrying towards us, wearing the familiar contamination suits. He's an adult too. But that was the only similarity he had with the rest of these adults. He had a kinder face. I near the entrance, but not I'm not afraid. The kind-faced man makes me braver.

From the glass helmet, I see him smile. "you must be Cody, I'm Doctor Roland. Nice to meet you." he said.

"Hi," I smile shyly and give a wave. It's my first time seeing an actual adult.

And this guy acts a bit like Corrin, so I know he wouldn't hurt anyone. "I was told that you knew someone who needed medical help," Doctor Roland say. "I've been studying how to cure wounds exposed to the radiation. Can you tell me what happened?"

I tell him about the sheep, the body slam and how Lori was under the sheep. How Lori ended up scratched up probably by the Rabid Sheep's rough underside. When I saw him at the base, I remembered seeing him having whitish bumps on his skin, mostly at his leg where the cuts had been first, so I tell the Doctor about that too.

"You have to help him! I don't want him to die! Or turn into a monster!" I plead.

"All right," He nods. "I can help you but you'll have to do this before it spreads far enough to reach his heart. Then you'd have it all over his body and there's no way you'd get it out. That will give you three days—maybe four." I think about that and grin, it'll only take me half a day to get back if I leave as soon as he tells me how this cure works. "Heh, I can see the travel distance won't be much to cover. Okay, this is what you need to do. So by this point, he may have a few huge, puffy wounds—something really swollen." I can tell Doctor Roland is using simpler words than he would usually, so I can understand, the same Rhys does with all of us most of the time. "you need to take a clean knife and cut all them open."

I wince at the thought. "Will that hurt?"

"Yes, but it will help tremendously. It'll start oozing and bleeding, but you need to drain all the pus out of there—don't let it touch anyone, so while doing the procedure, make sure your hands are covered too. When you've done that, tie a rope around the top of his leg tightly. It'll cut off the circulation, and that'll stop the radiation from getting into other parts of his body until the pus has been drained out of him." he shrugs. "None of us can figure out why that works but we've tried with others who are or were hurt that way and they're fine." He smiles again. "after that bandage up the cut so that nothing can get at it again until it's healed completely."

I frown a bit. "So... he doesn't need any special, magical medicine or anything?" I shifted, feeling a prickly sensation on the back of my neck—like a warning. But there isn't any kind of danger around. "Like pills or syrup?"

"No, don't worry." Doctor Roland laugh a bit but not like he's making fun of me. "He'll be as good as new but make sure he still gets plenty rest and water. You won't need any kind of medicine."

"Thank you so much sir!" Impulsively, I decided to hug his waist. He doesn't recoil, but hugged back instead. I'm so excited! I'm gonna help Lori, he's gonna be okay, and now I can—

Something hits me on the head and my vision's suddenly filled with black shapes...

"Hey!" Doctor Roland yelps as I unwrap my arms around him and fall, dazed, unto the arms of one of the guards who must have sneaked up on me. "what are you doing?! I just gave him what he came for! He wasn't a danger, why...?"

"You were the distraction, Doctor Roland." A man says. "we appreciate your help in capturing this changeling surface boy. Thank you ever so much..."

"But... But..." Doctor Roland sounds like he's sputtering. My head lolls back and forth. So many pretty colors.. Like a rainbow... "Why?"

"We were told he may have some strange abilities, possibly caused by the unnatural components in the atmosphere, our intent is to study and experiment."

"He just wanted to help his friend!" Doctor Roland sounds really distressed. "what are you going to do with him?"

My vision's going all black at the edges...

"Observe whether or not he can endure extreme conditions. Perhaps force or trick him into displaying any new...  _attributes_."

"No!"

I blink a little, my eyes go blurry. The lids are too heavy to life... I'm too heavy to move myself. I'm pick up like a sack of vegetables and tossed over roughly on someone's shoulder. I moan. I'm so sleepy... too sleepy... my head hurts...

_Corrin... Trey... help me... help..._

"But what if... he can't endure extreme conditions? What if he dies?"

It's getting darker...  _Momma... Papa..._  I drift off to the darkness.

"Then we'll know for next time, won't we?"

 **[** **_TIME REVERSE, end_ ** **]**


	13. Part 03.3 THOMAS

**::THOMAS::**

"Well, no, you're right." Lindsay gives me a sheepish smile. "he doesn't believe me so he's not happy about going. But I didn't have time to try and convince him. Plus, he didn't want to listen to me anyway."

I sigh, rubbing my forehead. "Great. So not only are we going to travel around alone up on hostile ground, we'll also be carting around a sullen, spoiled brat, who's going to fight us every step of the way, and never mind the fact we're trying to save his life. I'm thrilled. Thanks a lot." Events of this day is making me age faster, damn it. 

"You don't want him to die, do you?" Nina asks with a level gaze.

I frown at her, crossing my arms. "Oh, no, no. You _don't_ get to do that, with everything you've put me through today. Nope, don't even give me that pout, Nina. You know that's not my point." I said.

Nina shakes her head and takes a contamination suit for Lindsay and starts to put it on. "This is for his own good, even if he doesn't believe that."

"Besides, he's been living in a machine for most of his life," Lindsay cuts in. "he's used to routine and order. This wouldn't go over well with him, even if he believed us. It'd be hard." Her face hardens. "another reason to hate what they've done to him."

I sigh, giving her that. "Yeah, I know." I grab my own suit and glanced at the other one that's left to the side, Lindsay is busy running Sean's machine and making sure her weird contraption is set up well. Nina is busy still getting into her own suit. "don't tell me I'm in charge of dressing Mr. Loveable here. I wouldn't be surprised if he had skin like ice; it'd match his charming personality after all."

Lindsay smiles. "I doubt it, Thomas. The temperature is kept as perfect and constant as possible for him—important as he is."

I grumble, grudgingly helping Sean get into his suit first. There's a small bit of mechanical junk right around the chest area that's supposed to purify and renew the air inside the loose plastic. It has little tubes that connect it to the suit, but everything is completely air tight—of course. Strangely enough, the suits are not grey outfits typically worn by the Surface guards, but a clear vinyl plastic casing that have leather gloves and boots attached. They're built to step into, so the neck part is wider than the shoulders. A hood of the same plastic fits over the top and fastens securely to the rest. Once I wear mine myself, it feels like I've just been put into an extra-protective plastic sandwich bag. However, it's great for moving around.

"Are these the new models?" Nina asks. Her voice a little muffled but she doesn't look strange in the new suit at all. It's just like someone drew an outline around her. "I heard they weren't ready yet."

"Oh they're ready." Lindsay assures us. "I made sure of it before we went here. They could last for years up there, as long as the filter in front isn't damage."

I look down at the mechanism and it did look sturdy enough. "How does it filter the air?"

"It does it inside the suit, so when the atmosphere comes in, it would be purified to oxygen." Lindsay explains.

"Oh wait, I almost forgot." Nina unzips the suit and rolled it down a bit, from her pocket she pulls out a piece of blue bandana I knew well.

Years ago, during those daycare days, Trey and I first got them as costume, or more like identification for this role play activity we did, about this tale about a blue ogre and a red ogre. Trey had the red bandana so he was the red ogre, and I was the blue ogre.

Basically, the red ogre wanted to go and make friends with the kids of a nearby village. But being monsters, kids would be scared of them. So the blue ogre made a plan so that they would know not to be scared of the kids, by scaring the town and having the red ogre fight him off and send him away. It worked and the Red Ogre made friends with the children and villagers, but in the end, his true friend, the Blue Ogre had to go away so they wouldn't be found out for their trick.

We accidentally got the role mixed up since we were nervous doing it, and since our opposite roles sounded more like the real thing... especially now. I am more sociable compared to back then, that's thanks to Trey's friendship. But now, my best friend is like the Blue Ogre that got sent away.

Anyway, they let us keep the bandanas and we usually use it a lot in our games, we pretended to be Blue and Red Ninjas, the Blue and Red Rangers from an old Television series Power Rangers, or Blue and Red street fighters, anything we came up with. It was always a token of our childhood, our friendship. I'm actually a very sentimental person, even if I did give our last memento of my Uncle, his old fisherman hat to Kytes as comfort to him when he goes up to the surface and sold off an expensive electric guitar that my Uncle got me when we were short on funds when only I was working between me and Nina. I'm so relieved that she had thought to carry it with her. When I first left with her to meet Lindsay, I didn't know yet that I wouldn't leaving everything in our bunker behind.

"Thanks Nina." I take the bandana, unzip my own hood and wrap it around my head. I place my hood back after. "Let's see... I think that's everything, isn't it? The suits really won't—you know, fail us?"

Lindsay smiles. "Don't worry about it, Thomas. Everything's taken care of. If it is too dangerous, you'll be re-admitted, providing your suits are still in tact."

That makes me feel better. It's stupid but I'm more willing to take on this whole journey thing now that I know I can come back if—BIG IF—I want. It's... less real, somehow. Less serious.

"I can't wait," Nina looks at my bandana. "when we see Trey and Kytes, they'll be thrilled."

 _When_ not _if_. I guess it's good one of us is a bit more hopeful, then again, it's Nina.

"I have a contact who's agreed to get the three of you out," Lindsay continues. "he's a Doctor who works near the surface, and he can make sure that Sean won't be able to escape somehow."

I raise a brow. "Do I need to ask for him?" I get the feeling they'd want a reason...

"No, he's meeting you." Lindsay hands Nina a small piece of paper. "that's the compartment number and the code for the intercom. It's on Level 01. He'll take you to the Surface Level safely."

"Thank you." I tell her. It seems inadequate, but I don't quite know what else to say.

Lindsay smiles and her whole expression softens. "Thank you," she repeats. "now you'd better get out of here before your extra passenger wakes up." She lifts Sean a bit, he looks even paler beneath the suit, somehow.

His hair has a luminescent blue glow to it, sleeping, he's peaceful and younger looking. Strange, how being awake can change a person so much. I took him from her. It's not a habit of mine, to carry around drugged sixteen year olds, or even whatever-year-olds so it feels a bit weird. He's so limp, it almost feels as if he's something inanimate, if not for heartbeat and steady breathing. It's actually frightening how easy it is to compare him to something that's not alive.

 _He is the machine,_ I remind myself. He doesn't even see himself as being alive, not really.

And he carries himself like an android of some kind. I felt a wave of pity for Sean suddenly. It seemed like such a sad, lonely way to live...

"Let's go, Thomas." Nina smiles at me, and I return it, caught in one of those odd moments where I feel truly grateful for what I have.

I know that I'm alive, and human. I have Nina, and other people around me. I don't have to just live and breathe for a machine. It put things to perspective, thinking like that.

**—o—**

Five minutes later, I'm walking down another tunnel after Nina, with Sean slung over my one shoulder like a sack of flour—scratch that. A sack of flour has more personality. I can't help but grunt.

"Are we going to be walking around for hours again?" I call out to her. "because I don't think Sean's going to sleep that long. And as much as I might enjoy knocking him out, it might just make those headaches he was complaining about a lot worse."

Nina replies this time, unlike before. "We won't have to take so many unnecessary turns."

 _Aha,_ I thought sourly. _so it had been intentionally unnecessary..._ "You know, blindfolding me and spinning me in a circle would have the same effect, and it'd be faster. You didn't really need to go to all that trouble." Yes, I am referring to when she led me around in circles for hours when we first had to talk to Lindsay.

"We had time," Nina shrugs. "Lindsay wanted us there at a certain point in the day, so that none of the technicians would be around to interrupt. I chose to use the extra time to lead you around circles."

I snort. "I noticed."

"Here," Nina leads me to a machine that's a bit like an elevator. "we're going to level 01,"—the level before Surface Level—"our contact works closer to the surface than we do."

I step into the machine and let Sean slide to the floor. I stretch. Despite the kinks, he's got very little muscle or fat, so he's not heavy at all. A toddler can probably carry him, too, with his feet dragging at the floor though. But he's fairly tall so that makes up for some of it. "So why does this guy have to live so close to the Surface if he's such a great, important Doctor?"

The farthest up I've been is Level 05, when Trey and Nina still used to live with their parents before sickness got them both and they were orphaned. It's an odd for a Doctor to be considered poor, but the alternative would be the guy happening to make some powerful enemies and that might give us more trouble than we need.

"He's a Research Doctor, too. His specialty is the study of how to cure wounds involving the radiation. That's why he sometimes has to work up there. Luckily, today is his shift on that floor." Nina smile shyly at me. "Kinda why I had to bring up leaving to you yesterday and had you meet Lindsay today in particular."

I grumble, but decided not to make any smart comments. What's done was done, anyway.

There's a buzzing sound and the doors to the elevator machine slide open smoothly. "Here we are," Nina says. "Now let's go see him." She walks off briskly down a tunnel and I have to scoop up Sean in a hurry to follow.

As she promised, it's a much shorter journey to the Doctor's working compartment than it was to Lindsay's. We turn down a few side tunnels and then come out into a fairly wide hallway. There are numbers on a wall beside the key panels that lined it. It's more ordered and obvious than the area we'd been in before—probably because this field isn't as secretive as Lindsay's was. Nina stopped at one of the key panels and types in a short code. We wait for a few minutes.

"Hello?" A voice calls through the small speaker at the bottom of the panel. The guy sounds either extremely tired or very upset about something.

Nina answers. "We were sent by Lindsay, my name is Nina Everhart, with me are Thomas Stone and Sean Spring. She told us you'd be able to get us where we want to go."

"One minute." It hasn't even been twenty seconds before part of the wall slides away. A tall man stands there, smiling faintly. He had a pair of glasses similar to Lindsay, except it looked fairly classier—he looks very professional. Except for the troubled look that's all over his face. "come in." He tells up, stepping aside. The door closes behind us as we do. "I'm Doctor Roland," he holds out a hand for us to shake. We go through the formalities, and then I look around.

Pretty much like Lindsay, except with a smaller computer and there are bookshelves lining up the walls. Again, there is a second key panel on one of the walls.

"Lindsay probably told you that I'd be able to get you and the Spring boy to the surface." Doctor Roland begins, sparing a brief glance for the boy slung across my shoulders. "I have something that'll keep him from making some kind of outcry—you won't be able to carry him out without the guards noticing that something is wrong. We'll have to wait till he wakes up to give it to him though."

Then, the man sucks in a breath. He's not done talking. I sense foreboding... from him or me, or both, I couldn't tell.

"What more is there?"

"Well, it's nothing related to the plan Lindsay had worked out, but something's come up, and—" Hastily, he goes on, pushing up his glasses nervously. "I need to ask a favor of you."

I'm thinking, _Ay ya yay, here we go again~_

"I understand that you're already doing quite enough, but I was hoping you could help me on this. It would also help someone who was in quite a bit of trouble..."

Nina's eyes soften immediately, and I face palmed, thinking I don't think I'm getting a say on this, either... Doctor Roland couldn't have said anything that would've gotten more of her attention.

"What's the problem?" I ask, a hint of resignation in my voice.

"I was called to the surface yesterday, around Sunset." Doctor Roland begins, relaxing a little once he realizes that I'm not going to freak out on him. "they told me there was a boy from the surface who wanted help from a doctor for his injured friend. I went up there and he told me the problem. I gave him instructions for the treatment, and thought that'd be the end of it. However—"

"However—?"

"The Superiors weren't interested in actually helping him. They were using me as a distraction, so that they could sneak behind him and knock him out. I wouldn't have gone if I'd known this." Doctor Roland shakes his head. "Now they're planning to experiment on him to see how humans affected by the atmosphere can deal with things that could kill a normal person."

I can feel my temper flaring again, and make some effort to keep it in check. _I've just been given more and more reasons to despise humanity today, haven't I?_

"We'll take him with us." I actually say first, before Nina could this time. Like I'd be able to refuse without looking heartless, anyway. "If he's from the Surface, he'll be able to help us once we get there." Then a thought occurs to me that this might even be someone I know... _Kytes, Trey..._

"Does he have a name?" Nina asks, the thought probably crossing her too.

"Cody, that's the name he gave." Doctor Roland says, and I'm a little disappointed. "Lori is the name of his injured friend, but he wasn't present. He didn't have any reasons to lie about that." He looks grateful. "I appreciate this, Mister Stone."

 _Ugh_. "Mr. Stone is my Uncle, you can just call me Thomas."

"You are doing me a huge favor," Doctor Roland nods. "thank you Thomas."

I shrug, absently thinking how one of those names sounder familiar. "Sure, whateve—"

"LORI!"

I nearly jump out of my skin as Nina suddenly snap her fingers. I give her a dirty look, miming a gesture that I was reaching out to her and strangle her for startling me. When she sees me do that, her eyes remains lit up.

"Don't you remember him, Thomas? He was one of my neighbors, back when my brother and parents still lived with me. You and Trey knew his brother, too. He was there when you broke that lady's vase, too. Remember Meeko?"

I widen my eyes. Yes, I did remember those two.

"They were sent out the same time Trey was, and if Lori's alive, maybe..." A brilliant smile spreads across her face.

I can't help but share her excitement, too. Just a little, because I'm still a realist. "I guess he might." I hope so. Because if we can find Trey, then we can find Kytes.

Assuming they're both alive.


	14. Part 03.4 SEAN

**::SEAN::**

Cody. There's that name again.

Once in a while, it comes to me in random when I close my eyes. When I do, fog clouds my memory like it does now. I try to push pass it

Cody—his name is familiar, I just don't know why.

I automatically reach out to access the personnel files—

They're not here.

I panick, reaching out to find my communication links to ask what has happened to my data files—

None of my parts are here. Either the whole system is down, or something has gone wrong with my hardware or—I winced as a memory comes rushing back; I've been kidnapped by the dupes of a lunatic technician.

"Just great."

"Looks like  _Sleeping Beauty_ has to decided to join us at the land of the awake."

Thomas's voice comes from somewhere above me. I winced, sitting up slowly, noticing as I do that there is a plastic layer around my skin. So they plan on taking me up to the surface in a suit. I suppose that's something to be grateful for.

"Sean," a new figure leans in front of me, "I'm Doctor Roland." I eyed the hand he holds out to me in distaste. He doesn't seem at all perturbed as he puts it away. "Nina mentioned you were complaining about the lights in the tech room giving you headaches so I've prepared some medicine pills for you to take with you."

I snort. "So kind."

"Sarcasm," Thomas observes, almost approvingly. "so he can display emotion."

I'm seriously beginning to dislike these people. "You are tearing me away from the life I'm content with and expect me to be appreciative? Just you wait, when the Council finds out about this—"

"Oh I almost forgot. Hold him still for me, will you?"

As Thomas holds me down, the Doctor takes a syringe and vial from his desk.

"Let's see now..." My hood's opened, and the suit's rolled back to give him a clear patch of skin. I winced at the sharp pain of injection. "There now, you can let him go."

"Was that necessary?" I demanded, rubbing my stinging neck.

Thomas has a similar question. "An Injection is going to help us get him passed the guards?"

"Trust me."

Thomas raised a brow. "That's what everyone's been asking from me lately." he shook his head, irate, it seems.

Doctor Roland carefully replaces the vial. He's a man of orderly habits—if he wasn't helping in my kidnap, I think I might have approved. Instead, I sulked. Roland... I'd have to remember that so that when I find a way to escape these people, I can report him to the Council. Of course, I no longer have access to my memory files...  _How do ordinary people remember things?_

"Should we go get Cody now, Doctor Roland?" Nina asked from a chair.

That name again?

"We? What  _we_?" Thomas raised a brow.

Doctor Roland faces her. "Dear, I need to send an Alert first. But you need not worry, I'm getting him on my own. You need all the rest you can get for when you start the excursion to the surface."

"But shouldn't someone come with you?" Nina frowns. "in case he decides to blame you for being captured?"

Thomas holds his forehead. "You're not gonna be able to reason out with her. I tried, for years."

"Oh very well, but do not come into the Unit itself."

Thomas glances my way. "That leaves me with guard duty," he narrows his eyes. "So what am I to do with Mr. Sociable here?"

I dislike them all, but I think I especially despise Thomas. Immensely.

"He won't be a problem," Doctor Roland says, he leans towards me, watching me closely. "he's going to take a nap. He's feeling very sleepy."

I raise a brow.  _No, I'm not._ I open my mouth to tell him that and yawn.

"Lie down here and nap, you'll soon go to sleep."

I wasn't tired, I wasn't—another yawn came and I can no longer resist. I lay down, blinking my eyes repeatedly.

"What was that?"

I hear Thomas ask, but his voice seemed to come from a long way, away...

"I injected him with a drug that induces a reaction in humans that's similar to the post hypnotic state. Are you familiar with any work on chemical simulation of brain function?"

Thomas makes a disgruntled noise. "What?"

"Hypnotism." Doctor Roland supplies. "It will wear off in a few days. Until then, if you give him a command as I had, he should feel compelled to follow it."

Thomas's voice sounded a bit... concerned. "A drug that powerful... aren't the consequences of its use a bit—"

"That's why only my daughter and myself knows about it, since I developed it myself. I'm sure I can count on your secrecy, Thomas. By the way, like the hypnotic state, it can be resisted. If there is a way to bypass it, I'm sure he'll find it."

"Just great."

Thomas does not sound happy as he spoke. How did he think I felt about it?

I sigh, drifting off to sleep. I could fight it, I would show these lunatics they could not just ruin my life—

I fall asleep.

**. . . . . .**

**. . . .**

**. .**

**.**

******_"Momma, please momma, don't leave us!"_ **

**_Momma smiled weakly as she held Luke's face, and held my hand to her heart._ **

**_"I—I love both of you, and you, my da—darling Cody," she gave a soft expression to our new baby brother in Luke's arms. "I'm s—sorry to leave you so soon, my baby. Luke, take care of yourself. And y—your brothers. Please boys..._ _Li_ _—live...."_ **

**_"Momma!" Luke cried, barely aware of the baby. I helped him keep the baby in his arms. "Momma! Please no! We can't lose you, too!"_ **

**_This is terrible. First dad, now mom—I looked at the baby, crying as well but he had no idea why, he didn't know why he was sad. Suddenly determined, I took him from Luke and stared at his eyes._ **

**_"No ma—matter what happens," I managed to say between sobs and chokes. "Cody will know his brothers' love, right?"_ **

**_Luke blinked his eyes, tears streaming down from his eye lids._ **

**_"Definitely."_ **

**_.  .  ._ **

**_"C'mon Cody, so I can show off to Luke," I told my baby brother, attached to me by a cloth makeshift baby strapper. "Momma, say momma," I urged, showing a picture of momma, pulling the pacifier out of his mouth._ **

**_Cody stared with big, blue eyes. "Ma—"_ **

**_Suddenly, he's pulled away from me._ **

**_"Hey!" I yelped as the guards took Cody even farther from me. "Give him back!"_ **

**_The Guard kept Cody away from me as two others grabbed at my arms._ **

**_"_ _C'mon_ _! I still need to find Luke, the other Orphans are leaving already!"_ **

**_The Head Guard, Calvin Foxe, scoffed. "Orders from Levin; apprehend you and Release the baby. So come along."_ **

**_I widened my eyes at what I heard. "No, no, no! Give him back, he's my baby brother, you can't separate us!" I started crying. "Cody!"_ **

**_I'm taken farther away, as the guards discuss what to do with my baby brother._ **

**_Last thing I heard was an unfamiliar voice cry out, "I'll take him!"_ **

**_.  .  ._ **

**_"Take the boy to the dungeons, we'll have to do something about his insights."_ **

**_Luke was struggling when I came into this dark place, somewhere deep under the surface._ **

**_"Luke?!"_ **

**_"Sean, why—?! No, you will not use Sean the same way you did me! I won't have it!" Luke glowered._ **

**_Councillor Levin cackles. "And you are in a position to oppose us? I think not."_ **

**_"You monster!" I cried out. "Luke, Luke! I'm so sorry! I couldn't do it! I couldn't protect Cody, they took him!"_ **

**_Luke widened his eyes to horror. "Cody, what—what does that mean?!"_ **

**_"Ah!" Before I could answer, they were taking me away. "Luke!"_ **

**_Luke tried reaching out to me, "Sean, no! Let him go, let him—" he trails off as someone knocked him unconscious._ **

**_"Brother!"_ **

**_"Take them to separate cells. I need to ascertain Sean Spring's efficiency before he takes up being maintainer."_ **

**_A guard nods as I am taken away further away from Luke._ **

**_"What about the Older brother?"_ **

**_Councillor Levin laughed. "Don't worry, I have something special in mind for him."_ **

**_"_ _Luuuuke_ _!"_ **

**_I'm dragged and strapped down to a machine, a visor covers my eyes, and everything goes dark._ **


	15. Part 04.1 TREY

**PART 04**

**::TREY::**

"Please Trey?"

"No,"

"Please Trey."

"No,"

"Pretty please with your Kytes debt on top?"

"Corrin!" I snap. "You guys gotta stop using that against me."

Corrin stares innocently with his cloudy, gray eyes.

"Ugh. Now don't use  _that_  look against me," I turn, hiding my flushed cheeks, even though he had no idea why it also got me to go with his whims, he still goes ahead and use it to his advantage. "I'm not gonna say yes every single time you do that."

Corrin chuckles, shaking his head. "Whatever ' _that_ ' is, anyway. Still don't get how it works. Am I doing it wrong now?" He teases, poking my sides. I try not to flinch. "Come on man, it's not like it will take that long." He's taking a break and left Lori with Meeko and Jenny.

Although he found a new thing to do: helping the children get washed. Apparently, it means I had to help... For him at least. I told him to just give them a regular wash, but he insisted that it'll be faster if their form of washing will be bathing in the pool, so I'd have to warm the water for them not to freeze. It gets real chilly at night.

"It's not like you're doing anything now." Corrin adds.

I huff, crossing my arms. "I happen to be thinki—"

"—sulking over your third strike yesterday that you think is why Lori's in his current state," Corrin quickly cuts in, alarmingly accurate. "And no, I haven't been in your head. You'd feel it if I had. It's obvious even to the little kids you're upset. Besides, Rhys does the thinking around here." He turns me around so I could see where the kids are playing, under the watch of a Wanderer named Kihiro. Corrin's right, they did seem to be more listless than usual. "Come on Trey," he takes my hands. "It'll cheer them up, I'll get a decent bath, and it might make you feel better." I allowed him to pull me to my feet.

I give a resigned sigh. "Oh all right." I could never refuse him anything, anyway.

What would Thomas say? _Who could function in the face of that persistence?_

It doesn't help that I have a secret crush on him, either.

"Yay!" The kids cheers when I come over, and Kiriho looks relieved.

I get to work.

The hotel had a large swimming pool, in an outdoor courtyard. When we found it, it had been pretty disgusting—all overgrown with weeds and junk. But Rhys and Meeko, between themselves, had found chemicals needed to clean it out—Eliot, a Batch one guy with a power similar to mine, except it's water, helped Rhys come up with a way to fill it out with purified water, water from a nearby stream purified by Eliot's influence. The result was an obvious success. I pulled off my shirt and dumped it by the side of the pool. I had an audience of children and one teenage girl, so I keep my shorts on.

I grumble a bit, but just for show. I actually relished opportunities such as these in which I can use my powers without having to worry about hurting anyone.

"Hey, this isn't bad." I say after I dove in. "It's not cold at all. I don't think you need me, Corrin."

"Aw." One of the littler kids protested. "But it's so much better when you do the water for us."

I grin at him and he returns it. "Is that so? Well, in that case, I'll get to work."

The kids cheer. I leaned back in the water peacefully. They're such good kids. Sent up the same way we were because their parents died, the same way Lori was dying now—

I pushed that out of my mind. The little one, the one who smiled at me? He was even younger than Cody was eight years ago when we first found him. He only survived because Kiriho found him and brought him back to us after a Scavenging assignment. His brother became the example and he was left for dead. I'm reminded of Cody, forced to be separated from his brother, survived because of Corrin's care.

No, our care. Us, from Genesis Batch. Me...

I remembered a particular night, during our first year, when the eight of us were the only ones left on our own. When we had no bases yet, we spent one night in a cave. Everyone already turned in—Except me and Corrin. We had the first watch, the other guy usually being the first watch since it took him a while to get baby Cody to sleep.

**_"Trey," Corrin called out to me from the other side of the cave. I had been busy getting a fire going, being careful not to overdo it and burn everyone in here. "Trey."_ **

**_When I was satisfied, I finally gave my attention to the guy. "What? I was busy."_ **

**_"Look at that."_ **

**_"Look at_ _wha_ — _"_**

**_I trailed off when I saw Cody making his way towards me on his puny, tubby legs, wobbling and all, which made both me and Corrin a little nervous. But we didn't go near, afraid that he might stop the effort on his first walk. He barely made it to me, but I was swift to catch him. He laughed and giggled, pulling on my hair. It usually annoys me when he did that but now, I didn't mind._ **

**_"W-wow, that was pretty cool." I managed to say, settling back down._ **

**_Corrin laughed, coming over. "Amazing, right?" he rubbed the kid's head. "Man, he's learning fast."_ **

**_To prove his point, Cody places his hands on Corrin's face, his giggling getting squeakier, babbling_ _nonsense until_ _he actually spoke a real word... or almost a word, anyway._ **

**_"_ _Waa_ _,_ _gaa_ _..._ _guh_ _... Ma... Ma... Ma... Ma...Maw-ma..."_ **

**_"..."_ **

**_"Don't say a damn thing..."_ **

**_"Heh, momma?"_ **

**_"It's not funny."_ **

**_"So who's the papa?"_ **

**_"Trey!"_ **

**_Cody continued giggling and saying what at least sounded like 'momma' until he lets out a particularly wide-mouth yawn. And he_ _leaned back_ _to my chest before closing his eyes, and slowly falling asleep._ **

**_"He always settles in faster when it's you." Corrin pouted a bit. "what's your secret, damn it."_ **

**_I shrugged, being careful not to wake him again. "Maybe I'm warmer? You know, because of 'that' and all." then I gave him a teasing grin. "don't worry, babies love their mommies more."_ **

**_"Trey—" Corrin scowled. "Never mind. But they behave for their daddies more, so what does that make you..."_ **

**_"It makes you guys parents, yay~ now keep watch quietly... Let_ _meee_ _sleep~" Lexie stifles a yawn._ **

**_"Er, sorry about my sister... That sounded weird, huh?"_ **

**_"N-no worries, man."_ **

Well, thinking back, that got awkward real fast. Still that's when I first realized it. The others sleeping peacefully, while Cody had slept in my arms, placing their chances of survival on me. Placing their trust on me. They were more than just people surviving with me, more than friends that stuck with me when the majority hadn't... they were family.

Now that family got bigger. It was hard work for a kid, but trials makes a child grow up faster, I guess. So I matured sooner than I wanted, but just enough that was needed. This is why I'm so upset. Because I'm at the risk of losing two of my family members, and those two had to be ones who's been with me since the beginning.

I'm really mad at those damned Councillors. It's not fair that they sent us all out at such young ages to fend for ourselves. It's not fair that Lori is dying, and its unfair that Cody blames himself that he feels he needs to get the cure to make up for it _—_

The water around me is boiling now. I increase that heat, driving it out to the edge of the pool so that the water is warmed through. It feels good to vent my anger like this, wear it out and not hurt anyone. When I stopped, my head is clearer and I'm more relaxed. Perhaps Corrin was right, I did need this.

"Yay! Thanks Trey!"

The kids cannon ball into the pool, Kiriho cries out to be careful and I yell at them, too. They calm down but continue playing.

Corrin removes his shirt, and I sink into the water just enough that the water level barely brushes my eyes and conveniently preventing a blush spread through my cheeks. Sure, I've got betters abs than Corrin does since I've done a whole lot more outdoor tasks than he has, like Rhys he usually stays here since it's more convenient to have our main healer around when someone needs treatment. He only goes out to Scavenge for medicines or herbal plants only he can identify without effort. And that was still enough to give a good muscle tone.

Corrin comes into the pool more sedately and swims over to me. "How are you?"

"Better."

"That's good, you should watch your blood pressure."

"Hey, what gives? You're making me sound like an old man."

"Aren't you?" Corrin teases before speaking softly. "Look, none of us wants to lose Lori, but you don't have to take responsibility."

He always surprises me. I should be used to this—his ability to read emotions comes with his power to heal body ailments. Apparently, emotions have lots to do with the body's healing process. And like in other things, stress does no good in speeding it along.

"Thanks Core," I smile a bit. "But he is my responsibility, you all are."

Corrin shakes his head. "Maybe, but we make our own choices, like when we all voted you as leader. Don't forget it." He says. "It's a choice none of us regret, even up until now. And no matter how many strike outs you get, you know we'll never hold it against you."

I give him one last appreciative smile before climbing out of the pool, going towards Eliot and his best friend and Batch Leader, Ray, who has been watching, disgruntled.

"Can you remember how long it took us to convince the kids they needed to be cleaned yesterday?"

Eliot chuckles. "We should have gotten Trey to help out."

"Except he was busy that time," Marah, Batch Four's Second-in-Command, points out. "so it wouldn't have matter either way."

I go over to them. "You're back from Patrol?"

"Yeah, thought you might like to tell your hot Second-in-Command—"  _  
_

_Hot? Oh Jeez..._

Admittedly, I was rooting for Meeko since we're kinda on the same boat. Unfortunately, Rhys is not short on admirers, and the damn guy has no clue—then again, neither do Lori and I, since we're speculating but it is still glaringly obvious. It's just a good thing that, while Rhys was crazy smart, he was dense in matters of affection. But Meeko better figure it out quickly—I still don't know about Lexie though. 

 _Which side would Corrin be in?_  

"—to move his warning signs." Marah brings me back to reality, "Where they are now, hidden among the trees, we almost didn't see them."

I groan. "Great." I head out to look for my  _subjectively hot_  Second-in-Command.

He's probably in his Research room or Private Study, appropriated for himself in order that he might work without being disturbed on—whatever current project he's in. Whether it be his collection of notebooks, his notes on everything we need to know for survival, taken from the books we scavenged for him or books which he brought from Underground with him. He's also got retrieved data from old computers, laptops and mainframes, from when there was still Advanced life up here, that only works under his touch. Since we didn't really have electricity up here until Rhys got a generator going with aid from his abilities, but we rarely ever need to use it. So it's okay for us if only he needs to use it.

Rhys wasn't in his research room, but his Corps members told me he was in his Private study, exactly as I had guessed. I left to seek him out to the room a few doors down.

"Rhys?"

He often gets up caught up in his work, so I'm not surprise or offended when he doesn't answer immediately.

"Rhys, you in here?"

The reply comes from somewhere to my left "Trey," A few moments later, Rhys appears wincing as he walks over to me awkwardly. "I've been sitting down too long..."

"What for this time?"

"Looking for ways to help Lori, like you instructed me, in case Cody might come too late—" He gives me a dirty look, sort of blaming me for not allowing him to do what Cody had done instead, to have had prevented the younger boy from going off on his own in the process. I don't really hold it against him, but that's not to say I wouldn't worry if it had been him who went. "We got nothing on Mana, but I was hoping studying about eradicating radiation could be another way of going about finding a cure. But so far, none of the journals we have contain anything about exposed radiation. Still, I'm sure if I look hard enough, I'll be able to find a parallel treatment, something to at least slow down the infections from spreading."

I nod vaguely. "Sounds good,"

"Trey?" Rhys raises a brow at my expression. "is something wrong?"

I sigh in dread. "Where did you put the warning signs I asked you to put up?'

"About the trees? In the clearing, exactly like you said."

Just as I thought. "They're not there now." I tell him. "According to Marah, the signs are among the trees."

"But there were no trees where I've placed them." Rhys protests. "do you think someone moved the signs?"

I look up, "Either that," I head for the wall, Rhys following behind. "Or the trees moved."

The hotel has a wall built around parts of it, another reason it makes such a good base. From here, we post sentries and stuff. I climbed up onto the wall, Rhys following my lead, and found my suspicions confirmed. "This isn't good."

"No," Rhys agrees immediately. "Not at all. There were no trees remotely near the parameter when I put the signs up yesterday.

I look at the trees, slowly but surely, making their way to surround us.

"What do we do now?"

I answer automatically, "We call a meeting," I turn to him. "cut your work short for now, head to the main hall. Tell anyone you pass by to alert their Leaders and instruct them to get the word out. Also, make sure no one goes anywhere near the clearing. I'll do the same once I get Corrin up to speed, so he can prepare any items he'll need to take with him for himself and his patients."

Rhys nods, and we both went out separate ways to prepare for the incoming danger. I just hope we haven't wasted time, and there's still enough to deal with this present predicament.

"Corrin," I come in and find said healer—well, healing. "Hey, got a moment?"

Corrin turns away from his current patient, Meeko—no surprise there—and towards me. "Yeah, just finished fixing up dumb-dumb here."

"Dumb-dumb, huh?" I had to smirk, Corrin rarely calls anyone names—aside from Lexie. "Corrin, you need to work on your list of insults. But really, how'd he get hurt now, I thought I temporarily banned hunting."

Corrin throws me a look and Meeko looked chagrined. "I, uh, accidentally told him that I let Cody go off on his own and, heh, he broke my bones for a while." He tells me.

One more glare from Corrin and Meeko rushes out. Lori weakly chuckles from his bed.

"Only healed them cause someone's gotta carry Lori to the next base," Corrin rolls his eyes. "You're lucky you came clean on your end about knowing, otherwise you'd be sharing his fate."

I love that I'm honest. "Er, heh, lucky me." I clear my throat. "So you already know about the soon evacuation?"

"I kinda figured, since my number of patients are more than usual... Well, more than usual when things aren't Code Red." Corrin shrugs. "During Pre-evacuation, this is pretty usual."

"Just came to tell you to make sure you don't leave any supplies you might need. We may not be able to come back here for a while."

"I never forget them, so no worries."

I nod before heading out, but suddenly I'm pulled back. I look and see that Corrin had moved quick to grab my arm, getting me back in the room.

"What's up?"

Corrin bites his lip, worrying it a bit. He looks at me seriously. "Trey," he grips my arm. "I know we usually leave immediately during Code Reds but... Let's not leave without Cody, okay?"

"Corrin," I stare back at him, "you don't even need to ask that."

Corrin brightens at that. "Thank you, Trey."

"No thanks necessary, Core." I smile. "He's our baby after all."

Corrin blinks. "What?"

My cheeks heats up as I realized what I said. "Geh! I, uh, mean—by our—uh, Genesis batch! Yeah, Genesis Batch's baby!" I amend. "S-sorry, I worded it wrong..." I looked anywhere but at Corrin, that meant looking at Lori though.

// _Smoooooth_ _, daddy_ // The guy gives me a sly, knowing look.

I think back to him // _Shut up._ //

"O-oh," I turn back to Corrin, with a raised brow. Why did he sound disappointed? "Ah, well, thanks for stopping by. Don't let me keep you from the meeting."

I just remembered I was suppose to prepare for that. "Right, see you around, Core."

By the time we sit down for that meeting, a bare few hours later, fresh signs have been posted and Rhys is hard at work on what he calls  _Project Herbicide_ , before the meeting started. Not everyone is required to attend the meeting, we'll need a much bigger space if that were the case. We only have our Batch Leaders and their Second-in-Commands report in. As for the newest batch that came yesterday, they have no appointed leaders yet so I assigned Ray and Eliot to relay this discussion to that batch aside from their own.

"I hardly have to say that the clearing and glade is out of bounds. Be very careful when you go out, but only if you have to. Either way, stay within the parameter until evacuation."

One of the younger leaders, Phoebe, raises her hand. "When are we going to evacuate?"

"We're not," I sigh. "for the moment, anyway."

A protest is quick to follow. "So we're just going to stay here and let them surround us? That's insane!" Bryce, Batch two's leader, a good leader but also one I've suspected to have a view to taking my role as Head Leader, had spoken. "you're going to endanger our lives for no reason at all?"

"There's a reason." Rhys says tiredly. "Lori."

That startled him into silence.

"Lori's too sick to be moved," Jenny continues, Leader of Batch four. "I say this behalf of Corrin. And this is the base Cody will come back to."

Bryce frowns. "If he comes back."

"What," Jenny glares at him. "you're lucky Corrin didn't hear you say that."

 _Yeah,_ I had to agree.  _he'd break his bones for the implication_...

"Still..." Bryce was unrelenting. "Lori's as good as dead, anyway."

 _Okay~_ I think dryly.  _if both Corrin and Meeko were here... Well, he must have a death wish..._ I'd be mad too if I wasn't already used to how he says things he doesn't really mean when no one sees his way—which almost always happens.

"I mean, come on," Bryce continues. "I remember back Underground, no one gets better from a wound like that."

I finally cut him off there. "Lori might be the first. This isn't the Underground, and it's much easier to believe he will get better than imagining the tears that would spill from Cody's eyes if he didn't."

There's a collective grimace. Everyone who knows Cody loves him. I am not exaggerating. While I can't say he's always been behave, I can vouch that he is the most lovable tyke we have so far. And no one wants to see him cry, even Bryce.

"Besides," Rhys adds. "Lori is one of us, and we're not giving up on him. We'll hang on to every chance we have to save him." he says reverently. "despite our odds, we will save him."

While not unusual, it was rare for our genius to be greatly convicted by emotion over logic. I thought back to our discussion earlier, and I'm wondering if he's passionate about it more for Meeko's sake than Lori's. Well, at the very least, it means Meeko has a ghost of a chance.

"Anyone who doesn't agree with my decisions, of course, is free to leave at any time." I say, but not unkindly. "But as Rhys implies, as long as there's a chance for his recovery, I'm staying with Lori."

The leader from Batch three shrugs. He's called Leroy, but everyone goes with Lee, and he prefers that, too. "Well, I guess it's not as if we'll be sitting ducks anyway."

I had to smile at that  _we_. Of course I knew that I'll always have Genesis Batch standing by me, and of course I knew the other batches didn't particularly dislike me either, even Bryce doesn't, he just gets competitive. Still, it was nice to hear it vocally that I had their support.

"Yes," Rhys nods, "I am working on a form of spray we might be able to use to keep them back."

Ray frowns. "Mixing chemicals and radioactivity?" he sounds worried, "are you sure about this?"

"I wouldn't use it until safety checks had been made." Rhys assures him. "And until then, we do have another weapon we can use against the trees."

"What's that?"

I grin, giving a meaningful look to Ray. He gets it and smiles back. "Fire."

"Okay, so~" Another one stands, but not to antagonize me as Bryce had. Javier, Lee's Second-in-Command. "I'm sorry, I don't want to seem rude but is that all? It's my turn for sentry duty, so unless there's anything else really vital I should wait for, I'll go now."

I nod in understanding, "Yes, just one more thing: Cody. You all know by now that he went Underground to find a cure for Lori." I say. "we don't know what will happen next, whether they've helped or not. But I want all you sentries to keep an eye out for Cody and anything from the Underground—we don't know how they will react. I think we should be careful."

"You think we might be in danger of them?" Paige, Phoebe's sister and Second-in-Command, asks.

All eyes are on me. They know I've never lied to them. So I won't.

"I don't know. We hadn't had any contact with the Underground for years except when we get reports from new batches; you guys, basically. They may have changed, they may have not. But given how they treated us in the past—and how they continue to treat other kids—I'm choosing to be cautious over being unprepared."

There are nods.

"Meeting adjourned." Rhys finally concludes. "you are free to go about your daily tasks, but please everyone. Be careful."


	16. Part 04.2 THOMAS

**::THOMAS::**

Watching the bluenette sleeping soundly, while less annoying than dealing with him awake, is starting to get bland and I'm getting restless. Now that I think about it, even if it was risky, maybe that's why Nina opted to go along with Doctor Roland, cause it's better than sitting, waiting, and worrying—being a cynic.

To sum up, being me.

But with the silence, I guess it's given me an opportunity to think real well of what we're about to do and what may happen. The number one thing I'm hoping for is that we don't die on the get go. Surely, it wasn't that bad. At least, the guards can still fool around and act like the idiots they are, so whatever is up there can't be traumatizing enough.

Which begs the question, why can't we work on getting back up there?

There must be something up there which the Councilors don't know yet so it's enough to make them cautious. After all, the unknown is always something scary. Like not knowing how long will we survive down here. What will happen to us if the whole system collapse down here? I mean, I'm sure it wouldn't entirely collapse just because who took the maintainer, otherwise Lindsay wouldn't consider it humane, to save Sean's life but ending up annihilating the entire human species down here—

 _Jeez,_ I slap my forehead.  _I can't be left alone with my thoughts. Stop thinking dark, Tom._

I start glancing repeatedly at the Digital clock, pacing around the room. I'm no longer really watching Sean, like I'm supposed to. What's the worse he could do anyway? He's asleep, so he won't be any trouble.

I wonder if Nina and Doctor Roland has encountered trouble though. I looked back at Sean—well, maybe the back of the sofa he was laying on rather than Sean himself. He's been quiet all this time, so he's not going to wake anytime soon. I decided to at least check on the guards nearby, if there were trouble anywhere, they would hear about it.

Nope, no trouble at all.

But there was definitely something wrong with those in charge of guarding our city playing cards and betting on corn chips, of all things. Fucking seriously, the entire human civilization is relying on some doormats to guard their only refuge from the dangers of the surface?

 _Why not just go ahead and start betting on human lives?_ I grumble, heading right back. One good thing about leaving is at least I get count on myself to survive.

I stop in my tracks, realizing something. How am I gonna do that?

We don't even have weapons... I looked around, remembering I'm in Level 01, where the weaponry is being kept. Maybe I can find some over—

"Yeah, new rifle models got delivered."

"But we can't test them till tomorrow, it sucks."

I hear the guards' voices and panic, finding the nearest quarter. Good thing I still had Lindsay's key card. I tap it in and got in. I hold my breath, too panicked to think that with the airtight door, they wouldn't even hear me scream.

I close my eyes. When no one tried barging in, I suspect I was pretty home free. I exhale deeply,  _That was close..._ The last thing I need was questioning.

That was when I realized that there were surface rifles behind some glass, locked in there. But the key card of it was on a slot just next to that shelf. It would be easy to take them, they've got to have some bags lying around somewhere. But my fingerprints would be left in the key card.

Then again, once I'm at the surface, knowing who took them would be useless.

Still... Now that I think of it, there are no security cameras in this room, they wouldn't know who broke down the glass. If someone, indeed, decided to break them.

"Don't be stupid, Tom," I scold myself. "You're gonna need something hard or really heavy. It may be glass but it looks sturdy enough. Your fists can't possibly..."

But there happened to be a nice, fire extinguisher in the corner that's heavy enough to break the glass.

"I should really rethink my life choices..." I narrow my eyes before groaning, and going over to pick up the extinguisher. I grunt a bit, thinking of all those lost times and missed chances to try gym workouts, before heading in front of the glass case. "I hope I live long enough to regret this..."


	17. Part 04.3 CODY

**::CODY::**

My head throbs achingly when I wake. Something red is running across my forehead from my scalp. Blood. I'm suddenly scared when I remembered my previous moments awake.

_They tricked me... why?_

I only hugged the Doctor. I wasn't trying to hurt him. Corrin says it's only good to thank people properly. Trey says hugging is a good way if you're not trying to be formal about it—

 _CORRIN! TREY!_ I suddenly realise,  _Will I still see them? I need to get back, I still need to tell them how to save Lori!_

I struggle and that's when I realise my hands are tied... No, not tied. There's some kind of big, metal brace bonding my wrists. It's similar to something Rhys called  _shackles_  in this base that's called a jail. It's not my favorite base. These look more... complicated, though. My legs are bounded the same way. Rhys said only bad people were kept in Jails and put into shackles.

_So, why would they do this to me?_

"Hey, the little savage is awake."

I raise my head and I feel how cold the floor is against my cheek.

_It's so dark. How can people live here?_

I see three men outside this glass wall. "Shall we test our hypothesis now?"

"With pleasure."

They did some tapping on a wall and a door slides open. In their contamination suits, they enter. I squirm to move back as they approached me.

"Don't hurt me please." I plead. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

They just laugh at me. "Wow, this kid's something else."

One makes me sit up and get on my knees by pulling my hair.

"Ow, that hurts!"

"It's supposed to, now shut up."

Why are these people so mean? All my friends up in Surface R are nice, why shouldn't they be? Why can't we all be nice? I hope I'll be able to return soon. I still need to help Lori.

"Stop fooling around and get him out of here." I see the man who tricked me into coming forward.

"Okay sir!"

I panic. "No! I don't like that man, I don't want to go near!"

"Sure kid, like we'll listen to you."

One guy went ahead, the others drag me by the hair. My legs are sliding against the floor. Next thing I know, I'm on my feet and in front of the mean man. I can feel myself shaking.

"You're mean!"

"Yeah, okay." The man brings out this thing that looks like a syringe, which Corrin uses to give us some medicines. It was empty, though. "Think about how mean I am while you hold still, I need a blood sample."

The needle looks sharp and like it could be more painful than Corrin's injections.

"No!" I back away. The guards hold me down and pushed me to the floor. "No, stop, lemme go!" The man bends down, leaning forward. He pulls my chin up so my neck is exposed. I had no choice but to show him my tears falling from my eyes. "No..."

"This will only hurt more if you struggle, so stop moving, brat."

I whine. "Corrin, Trey!" I scream uselessly as the needle was pierced into my skin and more tears filled my eyes. It was too painful. "Ahh!"

"Okay, that's enough. Get him to the white room,"

They lift me up as the Doctor from earlier stepped into the room.

"Roland, well, this is a surprise." The meanest man says. "Is there a reason for this visit?"

Doctor Roland spares a glance my way. "I sent an alert earlier, I'm here to... collect the test subject."

"Please help me!" I plead. I don't know if he would help, but I feel like he wasn't as bad as these guys.

A guy slaps me to make me quiet.

"Ah, yes." The man looked a little disgruntled. "honestly, I really would like the tests to be underway, but I suppose patience is a virtue. You say you can help him withstand the experiments for a lengthier testing?"

"Yes, Councilor Levin."

The man—was it Levin?—gave him this serious look, similar to what Rhys makes when we interrupt him from working. "And it will be under discretion? We wouldn't want the public to be, ah, concerned with our private matters."

"Of course not, sir. I will update you after twenty-hours for when you can retrieve the..." Doctor Roland looks stiff. "savage."

The Levin guy looked please. "That's good to hear." he turns towards me and the guards. "Hand him over to the Doctor, he will have temporary custody."

"Will you require assistance, sir?"

Doctor Roland shakes his head. "I am capable to take care of it myself, thank you."

"Hey! Please, when can I leave?" I ask as the Doctor. I shiver at the hard look he gave me,  _I thought he was nice..._

"I'm sorry, but you're not going anywhere. So get used to this as you're our prisoner now."

My heart sank.  _What do I do? What would Trey do?_ "Noo!" I complain as the Doctor drags me out, to the point that he had to carry me to get me farther. "No, no, no! Put me down, let me go! Corrin! Corrin! Heeelp! He—!"

"Shh!" Doctor Roland places a hand over my mouth. "I'm sorry, it was a lie. It was necessary so we wouldn't be suspected. I apologize if it caused you stress."

I'm confused now. He's nice again. What's wrong with these Underground people? "Mphhf?" He uncovers my mouth, placing a finger to his lips, meaning I shouldn't be loud. "What do you mean?"

"He means," I jolt, my arms held up defensively, as an instinct, turning to the new voice. I see a new girl, who looked a little familiar, but I don't know why. She had a nice smile, though. "we're here to help you get home."

I brighten up then. "Okay!"


	18. Part 04.4 SEAN

**::SEAN::**

I don't know how much later it was before I managed to pull myself from fitful dreams I can't even recall, now I'm back into some semblance of wakefulness. I didn't sit up. I stayed very still, straining with my ears to hear any sound that might tell me where Thomas is—my ears aren't that great—I'd hardly ever had to rely on them before.

I fume.

That was another thing these morons had to answer for. Connected to my machine, I had sense and abilities far beyond the range of normal human skills—my body was limiting and next to useless without my programs attached. But all the same, my ears did not pick up any sound.

I sat up cautiously. Thomas was not immediately in sight. I looked around the room and spotted a shadow moving up and down the corridor outside. Pacing was one of the ways techs dealt with stress or worry. Maybe other humans are the same—if Thomas was so occupied, then I had my chance. I scanned the room.

The Doctor's room, tidy as it was, did not display anything useful. I scan the surroundings, then I see it. A box of what looks like tracking devices. I stole a look towards the door. The shadow was no where in sight.

_This is it._

As noiselessly as possible, I cross to the box, took a tracker from the top and return to my seat. I settle down to examine my prize. It was the sort used to track animals from the central source but with a bit tinkering I could easily change it to be picked up from the central computers of the city. Provided, of course, I could keep it hidden from the others long enough to use it.

Footsteps approach quickly.

I push the device down among the pillows of the sofa and settled back, trying to look as though I'd just woken up.

"Okay, we're here. You can stop pretending you're scared of us."

Doctor Roland enters with Nina. A boy with blue hair similar to mine walked in between them.

"Are you okay?"

"Sure," The boy breathes deeply. "I'm used to long walks, but boy, that was longer than long."

Nina chuckles. "Thomas would agree." she looks around, then frowns. "Thomas?" she looks at me. "where is he?"

"I thought he was here." I shrugs.

The boy follows Nina's eyes and looks at me. "Who's that?"

"This is Sean Spring, we'll explain."

The boy blinks at me, dark blue eyes fastened on me curiously as he tried out my name. "Sean? Why's he wearing a suit—is he coming with us?"

"Only under protest." I says.

Our mystery companion's face radiated puzzlement—and dirt, I might add. He was probably the untidiest person I have ever seen. His hair looked like it's been cut by blunt scissors. And his clothes were torn on their edges. Honestly, he looked as if he'd just walked in off the surface.

"This is Cody," Nina introduces. "he's from the surface."

That just about confirmed it. It would also explain his skin tone. He's darker than anyone else in the room. Cody. No wonder that name seemed familiar—he could be one of those files from the list of children's name I read that were sent up years ago. Honestly, he looks like a savage.

"And this is what we've got to look forward to?"

Cody blinks, uncomprehending. "Huh?"

"Cody, why don't you sit down?" Nina says, moving him towards the sofa where I happen to be seated. I'd go somewhere else—but that would leave the tracking device in the open so instead I scoot over as much as I can. "How are you feeling, Cody?"

"I'm not that scared anymore," The boy smiles. "And the medicine you gave me helps my head ache. You're a nice Doctor!"

"I try," Doctor Roland smiles back but it fades quickly. "It was all I could do to make up for what happened before..."

"Oh no, it wasn't your fault!" Cody protests. "you were trying to help, and you could get in trouble for this."

Nina frowns. "Cody's right." she says. "what will you do? After Cody escapes, Councilor Levin will question why you haven't returned him after twenty four hours."

"Then I just have to make sure he has no one to question," Doctor Roland hints, smiling. "I just need to prepare some supplies and wait for my daughter. We were planning to leave, as well, the following week. But I guess the early bird catches the worm."

Cody looked confused. "What's an Early bird? Do they taste good?"

"Where's Thomas?" Doctor Roland asks, as he just realized it. "It's best if you leave now, the guards just finished a inspection patrol. They won't be as alert now. After all, they rarely are."

"Here," Thomas has returned, with a pack slung on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I was getting worried and restless. Thought I'd eavesdropped on the guards, see if anything had happened to you. Then I found these." He holds up the front of the pack to display a set of surface guns. "Neither you or Lindsay provided us with some weapons, and we don't know what we're up against."

Doctor Roland looks chagrined. "Ah yes, how careless of us. My daughter and I should have considered your self-defense."

"Eh?" Thomas blinks, wide-eyed. "You're Lindsay's father? Hm, now that I think of it, yeah, you do resemble her in a way. Didn't notice it on account of the fact that your hair hasn't changed as hers had."

"Oh! You have it too!" I didn't notice that the savage had moved in front of Thomas, staring at him, till he had shouted. "That blue bandana... Then you're Thomas, right? Wow, it's so nice to finally meet you!"

Thomas blinks at the kid. "Eh? Where'd you come from? Uh, how'd you know my name?"

"Ah, Trey told me about you, when he was explaining what best friends were," Cody says excitedly. "Are you coming with us too? Please say you are, he and Kytes would be so happy!"

Simultaneously, Nina and Thomas shared the same surprised expressions. "YOU KNOW MY BROTHER?!"

"Yeah, they helped raise me." Cody smiles at Nina, "no wonder you looked familiar, you must be Trey's sister! I thought you just had the same name."

Thomas had a weird smile on his face. "Trey... Kytes... So they are okay."

"Oh, that's such a relief!"

Cody's excitement seems to be infectious if such random names are enough to get the two emotional.

"Yeah, it's great, they'll be so—Ah!" The boy's face suddenly fell. Just like that, so did Thomas and Nina's. "Lori! He's really sick, really, badly, sick! I remember I got to get back quickly before it's too late!"

Thomas touches the top of his head gently.

I wince. Even through the protective suit, I would not want to touch— _that_.

"We'll leave as soon as possible, don't worry little guy," Thomas looks at Doctor Roland. "have we got everything we need?"

Doctor Roland nods. "Take these packs with you. They contain everything you need. For survival. And put these boots on, the surface is a lot harder to walk on than it used to be."

"Put them on." Thomas hands me a pair.

I scowl, but still under the compulsion of obeying and the drug, I do as he says. They fit perfectly.  _What, did Lindsay spend the last few years planning this or something?_

Wait a minute.

Everyone else is busy. I shift a little as if I'm moving to better put on my boots then bend down to adjust the fit. No one noticed.

"Let's get this show on the road then," Thomas says. "Come on Sean, hurry it up."

I stand obediently.

"Thanks for all your help, Doctor Roland." Thomas shakes hands with the man.

Nina follows, adding her thanks.

Cody impulsively decides to hug him, but the Doctor didn't seem to mind. Good thing he was wearing a contamination suit.

I follow noiselessly behind my abductors. They may have control over my actions but they don't control my actions.

Or the tracking device now hidden in my boot.


	19. Part 05.1 TREY

** PART 05 **

**::TREY::**

It's twilight now.

"They're getting closer."

I sigh, "I know Kytes, I see."

We're standing on the wall again, watching these threats—trees, for crying out loud. Trees that are slowly creeping on us at the rate of 15 millimeters an hour. If it wasn't for the fact that we couldn't move because of Lori's condition, or Cody's absence, this would be funny, in a twisted sort of way—I mean,  _trees_.

"Could you tell what they want?"

Kytes's powers has always been one of the most useful ones we have. Sure, it wasn't as offensive as mine or Rhys's, but thanks to him, we're able to maintain a proper diet with the meat we hunt and the vegetables he produces. All it took was a few packs of seeds we managed to scavenge on our first year and he did the rest to keep the stock limitless. The animals he was able to tame, like stags and the common cattle are pretty helpful, too, especially if Orphaned infants need milk since they can't handle solid foods. Of course, we have to be careful not to get radiation into them. We've already made preparations and vacated them to the next base. If we need to make a speedy leave, it'll be best if don't have to herd them along with us, it's also less crowded that way.

"They're trees, Trey." Kytes deadpans. "they want to eat and grow and put down roots."

It takes me a moment to confirm he was being funny about it and I snicker. "Cute. Anything else?"

"I'm sensing a particular hunger, I think the encounter with Lori gave them a taste for human blood—particularly, our blood."

I stare at the blond, raising a brow. "Rabids were what attacked them, not these trees."

"I can't really explain it, Trey, not as well as Rhys might if he's got my powers but—" Kytes is silent as he thinks. "it's like the Mana that affected them also sharpened their senses, making them, well, sensitive to other living creatures. So, maybe our instincts on survival enhanced as well once we got our abilities." Well, that'd explained how we survived this long even when we had been younger. "and just like that, it's sharpened the animals and vegetation instincts, too."

I frown. "In what way?"

"To put it simply, we're all sensitive about the other inhabitants of Surface R, in the trees case, they were able to get a feel of the sheep's encounter with Lori. It's a bit like how we're able to share our thoughts through telepathy." Kytes explains the best he could, but it's a little hard to understand if even he didn't get the  _how's_ of the concept. "Now, they want to, say, finish that meal the Sheep hadn't finished."

I glower, "Why am I not surprised?"

"They're seeking to surround us, they've worked out that we're easier targets if we can't move to escape."

"Yeah?" I scowl at the trees, "Well, we'll see about that you overgrown toothpicks!"

Kytes raises a brow, smirking. "They're trees, Trey. They can't hear you, let alone understand what a toothpick is and how it applies to them." he says.

"I knew that," I mutter, chagrined. Shaking my head, I left Kytes.

I need to find Rhys.

The quickest way to locate him was to ask Lexie, but that would been locating her first. I tried checking her tailor room, since that's one of the tasks she volunteered to take charge on, since she announced that she was the only one who knew anything about clothes. She's done a remarkable job, teaching herself to sew, and cutting down the clothes we scavenged to fit us. We found an army base years ago that's been the main source for most of our equipment, including the sturdy material some of our outfits were made out of the material is tough and durable, and once adjusted for us by Lexie and her appointed helpers, practical. Of course, the shopping malls were big help there, too.

Now, if only she'd stop trying to cut my hair or, even worse, her brother's, it'd be great. Because I loved the way it look on him now—I always wondered what it would look like braided. I used to braid Nina's hair, it's relaxing, and it'd be nice to comb his hair with my fingers while doing so. I wonder what it'd be like to run my fingers through those locks without it being weird, or how it'd feel to have his run through mine...

Do I sound wistful?

I shake my head. I don't have time to wish for this or certain stuff that won't happen, I have a family to protect.

"Rhys took some books and went out the back with a couple of the new kids, I think they're working on chemicals." Lexie tells me. "so you might want to be careful."

I nod. "I'll bear that in mind." I went to look for our technology expert.

I later find them, Rhys is directing a couple of newbies and some old ones in the mixing of some vile-looking stuff in a trash can.

// _H_ _ow's it going?_  // I ask, choosing to communicate by thought.

I could see that all the kids and Rhys wore protective cloth over their mouth. The bronze-haired genius even had his goggles on. I see Meeko, too, wearing a cloth but not really helping. He seems to be waiting.

// _We appear to be making progress..._ //

Rhys barely looked up from the mixture. I would have been offended if I didn't know that faced with an experiment, he devoted all his attention to it until it was solved.

// _We found a recipe for an organic herbicide in one of the books in one of the books._ // One of Rhys's volunteers tells me. // _Although we don't have all the ingredients, it gave us an idea of how to set about making one. We found some old plant sprays in the ground keeping shed. We're pretty certain it will work._ //

Finally, Rhys cuts in. // _But we need to test it. Get me the canister._ // he commands, and received an ungainly-looking pack. I watched, bemused as part of the liquid was poured into it.

I turn to Meeko. "And you're here for?"

"He'll test it, right?" Meeko replies. "I'm coming with as back up, make sure nothing goes wrong."

There's no anticipation or excitement for a challenge, he's serious. I think—since Lori's accident—he's been real worried. Rhys is most probably just as important as Lori is to him after all, if not more. I understand he wouldn't want anything to happen to him either.

"What is that going to do?"

"As far as I can tell, it's a spray pack." Meeko shrugs.

Rhys joins us, shrugging the pack onto his back. "We're going to use this to trial the effectiveness of the mix."

"Can I come?" Both Meeko and I ask at once. We glance at each other.

Rhys narrows his eyes at us. "Honestly," he shakes his head. "you two worry about me more than what is required... But fine, I was hoping you'd ask anyway." he agrees.

Leaving his volunteers behind to clean up and make sure no one went near the mix, we headed out. The trees are even closer now—Meeko and I check our weapons as Rhys sized up likely victims.

"Rhys," I call quietly. "you have thought about the effects of this stuff on land, right?"

"You mean about what would happen if it got into the soil and our gardens, and our water right?" Rhys turns to me. "As long as it doesn't come in direct contact to our garden's fertile soil and the freshwater riverbanks and streams, we should be all right. All the same, after we get out of this, it might be a good idea to let this base rest for a couple of years. The spray would unlikely cause long-term harm, being organically based, but we don't want to take our chances."

Meeko looks over to me. "Did you get that?"

"The gist, yes."

"Ah hah," Rhys suddenly says. "I think we have our test case."

An oak was slightly separated from the rest. "If you say so."

"What do we have to do?" Meeko asks.

"Stay upwind, observe the tree's reactions and intervene in the event of unforeseen happenings." Rhys adjusts the spray pack then turns to face the plant.

Meeko and I exchanged worried glances, obviously, none of us liked this plan, but we obeyed. Rhys was capable, so we'd give him the benefit of the doubt. I watched as my friend got the spray device working then redirected it at the plant's roots.

"I swear, that oak is trying to look innocent, man."

"Just your paranoia, Meek," Rhys replies flatly. "here goes nothing." he pushes the release button.

For a while, nothing happens. "Well?" I asks.

"Give it time. After all, we're dealing with trees." Rhys reproves, slowly circling the oak. "it may not happen instantaneously—"

The ground beneath him erupted into a frenzy activity, Rhys is slightly knocked off his feet.

"RHYS!" My Second-in-Command staggers back towards Meeko, and the guy pulls him out of the way of the twisting mess of roots. "You okay, man?"

Rhys simply exhales. "We appear to have found an effective weapon against them." he sounds breathless. "see the way some of the roots sent up are no longer working?"

"Yeah, no. That's not my question, Rhys." Meeko narrows his eyes.

I reach out to them, "Don't get too close, guys. I have a bad feeling about this—"

A feeling that was justified as the ground tipped beneath us, the writhing of the roots sent us tumbling head over heels towards the mess.

"Ah!"

"This was not what I anticipated!" Rhys gasps. "This is not good!"

Meeko grumbles, trying to get his weapon. "So use that spray or something!"

A root was busy trying to wrap itself around my waist. I was just as busy trying to unwrap it. "Hey! What are you waiting for, Rhys?!"

"Guys, if I used it now, I'd poison us all!"

"Oh."

I'm glad he always preemptively considers every possible outcomes.

"Hang on!"

I finally cut myself loose as Meeko did, and we join Rhys—he was struggling with a cluster of root that had caught hold of the spray pack, being on his back, he couldn't see to dislodge them.

"Trey, I cannot help but feel that now would be an opportune time to test the effectiveness of our powers, preventing the spread of these carnivorous vegetables."

"Say what? Vegetables?"

There was a familiar crackling noise and I see Rhys adjusting his goggles—Meeko and I dived out of the way too close for comfort as Rhys summoned his powers. There was a sharp flash and then the smell of singed roots. I look up to see Rhys brushing a bunch of burnt roots off the spray pack, replacing the goggles back to his head.

"That was refreshing," Rhys exhales. "Meeko, Trey, I trust you are unharmed?"

Meeko scowls. "A little more warning before you toast things, please!"

"I warned you—" Rhys blinks in confusion.

I gape,  _when?_ "Dude, you could have said  _'let's fry these weeds'_  and I'd have understood but vegetables?!"

"They're bushy, but they're no fucking broccoli!" Meeko huffs.

Rhys frowned, "Language, Meeko." he scolds, for some reasons, it only bothered him when Meeko swears. I don't know what to make out of that. "And vegetables is the correct scientific form of any—"

The ground tipped again and we mutually decided to put our argument on hold.

"We're out of the way now—spray at leisure, Rhys."

The trees really didn't like that. We retreated out of the reach of lashing branches and watched as its roots and twisted and went around.

"Are we done here?" Meeko asks.

Rhys shakes his head. "Not yet, I have one more matter of considerable consequence to assess."

"Buddy, would it kill you to use simple words for once?" Meeko groans.

Rhys huffs indignantly. "It does not hurt to enrich your lexicon and widen your range of vocabularies, Meek."

"Now what the fuck does Lexie have to do with this?!"

"Language!"

"Okaaay~" I cut in.  _Jeez,_ I think dryly.  _Meeko better have his jealousy checked..._  "hurry and get it over with, Rhys."

Rhys nods, "Okay. I require that both of you remain stationary... In other words, stay put." He gives Meeko a pointed glance as he simplified the instruction. "I'll still be on sight but I'll be going a little further as to test this effectively." he says. "trust me?"

"Uh..."

"Good."

Rhys goes off further, a bit near the clearing which I instructed everyone—including him—to avoid.

"Rhys,"

"Stay," Rhys calls back. "no matter what."

I grumble, crossing my arms. Usually, Rhys knew things we don't, but it didn't mean I like him putting himself at risk.

That actually is my general feeling to anyone.

I see a gigantic flower bud along with its stem coming out of the clearing. I did not like this one bit. Meeko must feel the same way. For now though, we stayed in place. Like Rhys said. I begin to panic when I see the vines coming from where the bud came from twining around Rhys's leg slowly, in no hurry as Rhys wasn't either. Actually, he wasn't moving at all. He's just staring at the bud.

"Trey?" Meeko suddenly says. "you know Jenny, right?"

I raise a brow at the question. "Uh. Duh?"

"And her powers to anesthetize stuff, particularly us so we don't feel pain while we wait for Corrin to heal our injury?"

"Yeah?" I did not like where this was going.

"Well, just an idea," Meeko swallows thickly. "if that plant had the same ability, except it works with fear instead of pain..."

Now I panic.

"RHYS!"

Meeko and I rush towards him, leaving our positions. Rhys turns abruptly, wide-eyed.

"N-No! Guys, don't—!"

I tackle him out of the roots just as it were about to grip tighter. Meeko steps on them. Rhys and I hit the ground a little off from where the bud was.

"I'll teach you for trying to eat my friend!"

"Meeko, no!" Rhys groans, and I fear he's hurt.

Now I'm mad. "Stay here this time Rhys, we'll take it from here you've done your part!" I rush in.

"TREY!"

Meeko and I attack that flower without weapons. I manage to burn it when that didn't work. But then, more buds came out from the clearing.

"They're too many! If I try to burn them all, I'll risk a forest fire!" And it may block the familiar routes Cody would take to get back here.

Suddenly, we're pulled up into the air by the vines. We yelled, the flowers' mouths were below us, and even if this is my first strike for the day, it might be my last... We're dropped down.

"AAAH!"

As soon as we were dropped, that same second, the flowers flinched and we land on the ground instead. Rhys has the spray and he had the plants retreating to the clearing. He thunders some trees to block the way, but not too bad that people couldn't climb over it. Then, he approaches us as we were dusting off our clothes.

Rhys glares and groans, as he had earlier but now, without worrying for his safety, I realized it's out of irritation. "You blockheads, honestly! I had everything under control!"

"You wanted to be eaten?"

"I  _wanted_ to get close enough to the mouth to see if spraying on it would be more effective." he heaves a sigh. "when will you two stop worrying over me and be a bit more trustful about—"

Meeko suddenly punches him. I back up a bit, as Rhys appears taken aback by the assault, placing a hand to his cheek.

"Uh," I look between them. "was that necessary?"

"Don't you give me that bullshit, Rhysell," Meeko glowers. I stiffen, surprised that he actually used his first name. "I trusted Lori the same way you're asking me to trust you too, and look where that got me—or rather, look where it got my brother." He turns away. "Agh! I should've been more responsible, I wasn't and now I could lose my only brother. I don't want to risk losing you, too... If the unthinkable happens..." his shoulders shook at that, "you're all I'll have left, don't you understand that? I can't..."

I pull Rhys back up and I give him this look, cocking my head towards Meeko's direction.

Rhys frowns at me. // _Don't give me that look, I didn't do anything wrong... technically._ //

// _Okay, can you say the same for emotionally?_ // I rolls my eyes. // _C'mon_   _dude, just because we managed this far, keeping the death toll zero, doesn't mean we are immune to it_.//

// _Actually Trey,_ // Rhys thinks, starting to look chagrined. // _immune is incorrect in that context, as death is not an_ _illne_ —//

// _Rhys, damn it, don't play dumb. You, of all people, suck at that role,_ // I huff, placing my hands on my hips. // _I know you know that isn't the point._ //

Rhys sighs, rubbing the back of his head. He went towards red head, "All right Meeks, look, I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Hmph." Meeko huffs, not even turning back to Rhys.

Rhys pouts, poking his best friend's side. "Now Meeks, that's not fair. I hate it when you ignore me, please." My eyes nearly popped out of my socket when Rhys actually embraces the guy. "Come on, I'm trying to apologize."

"Okay, fine." Meeko turns back, a little red in the face, but I think he's pretending that he doesn't notice. "But don't do it again, got it?"

Rhys nods a bit. "I promise to think about it carefully or at least consult you the next time I attempt to do something averse to safety."

"You totally revised the request dude," Meeko rolls his eyes. "Fine, I guess that's good enough. I'm gonna head back now, check on Lori. You guys follow quick, too, okay?" He headed off.

Rhys turns back to me, and noticed my expression. "What?"

"Er, so, do you—uh—always hug Meeko like that? Like you two are—you know, in a relationship." I asks slowly.

Rhys cocks his head to the side. "I'm not sure I understand the question, but of course we're in a relationship—we're best friends." he shrugs, and I swore I never wanted to strangle him harder in my whole life. Just how sheltered was this guy before we were sent up? "plus, Meeko is a little of a touchy-freely person when he's in a bad mood. I figured out a long time ago a little skin ship is enough comfort for him."

 _I cannot,_ I face palm, unsure if I wanted to laugh or cry. I'm not sure anymore if my pining for Corrin is as bad as my pining for these two to get together.  _I cannot anymore, with these two..._

"Trey? You look distressed."

I sigh. "Rhys, do you have enough spray to make a ring around the base?"

"I'm not sure," Rhys looked thoughtful. "and we still have to wait and see what the eventual effects are, and that job of surrounding the ring of the base would take a lot of spray. There's also the fact we can't be sure how effective it will be applied directly to the ground—"

"Yes, there's that too." I shake my head. "let's head back."

There's really no other options. Rhys and my powers were the only ones that would be any use against the trees—and our usual weapons weren't that good or as good against the so called vegetables. Spears and arrows are out, knives only does good in a close range battle. We'd have to leave the base, the only question is how long will we be able to put it off for Lori and Cody.

Rhys immediately went back to work as we returned. He's the only one who actually likes having a pile of workload. But I guess having something to do is better than doing nothing.

I walk over to Kytes.

"Hey Kyi?"

Said blonde looked up from where he was, sharpening his blade, Snowflake resting near his feet. "Yes? Want me to tree analyze again?"

I smile a bit.

Kytes Stone. That he wasn't actually my younger brother stopped mattering a long time ago. I'm as proud of him as if I'd raised him personally. I wonder what Thomas would think if he could see his little brother now—tanned from numerous scouting expeditions, strong from all the battles we've fought, hardened by our environment. He's one of the unlucky ones in terms of childhood innocence, sent out young but with the sense of mind to be aware of what was happening, aware of the cruelty, unlike Cody and some other tykes who were sent out as babies and didn't know better. I hope I get the chance to tell Cody I was proud that he survived this long, too. I wonder if Thomas would even recognize Kytes. Sometimes I try to work out what Thomas would look like now, by studying his brother's task—an impossible task. Surface R changed us so much. There's nothing left in the sturdy but gangly thirteen year old who will take a half-day march easily in stride to remind me of the six year old who clung to my hand and hardly lets go those years ago—and even less to remind me of the older ten year old blond who let him go. It's like trying to see Nina's face in my own—impossible.

Things made Kytes and a whole lot of us grow up faster than we wanted. Cody has grown up in this world where he thinks the type of things we go through is how things had always been, so in a sense, most of the strange things we encountered the first time haven't fazed him as much. In retrospect, it's probably a good thing Nina and Thomas can't see us—since being changed by the radiation, a lot of other groups we encountered before finding bases shunned us; we're not the only ones like this. Other Underground Cities in this piece of land had their fair share of Released Orphans. But I think we're the only one who are known to have powers, the Cosmic crash happened nearest to our area. But we're the only ones to welcome those who Wanderers with powers.

"No, I need someone to go to the Southwest base, make sure it's okay for use. Think you're up for it?"

Kytes nod. "Sure," He stands, dusting his trousers, and Snowflake wakes. "that's only a half day from here, isn't it?" He muses, suddenly frowning. "we're not going now, are we? What will happen when Cody comes back?"

 _Not if. When._ I observe.

Even then, he was always the most optimistic one, contrary to his ever sarcastic and cynical brother. I had to smile, absently touching the red bandana on my forehead. He'd probably make a response like:

' _Well, we can't all be sunshine and rainbows. Someone's gotta be the rain cloud._ '

I chuckle. In bad days, those comments were annoying. In good days, they were hilarious.

"We're not going now. I just want you to go, check if it's okay for use and get it ready for the rest of us to move into once Cody's back and Lori's cleared to move."

Kytes smiles, relieved. "I should take some supplies with me right? Oh, and some stags?"

"Sure, and some of the kids. It's about time they learned to scout. Might as well have them help you transport the cattles and flocks already." I think of names. "Joe, Max and Phoebe seem ready. And any others you think are, too. Get someone experienced to go with you as well."

Kytes nods, looking up at the sky. "It's getting a bit late—we might make this an over nighter." He narrows his eyes. "Guess I'm gonna have to bring John and Paige, too..."

"Why?"

"Max won't be able to rest at night if he's not sure John's safe in arm's length, and Paige will whine if her sister got to go but she didn't." Kytes pointed out.

I waves a dismissive hand, "Phoebe will help him get over it, besides, they're Second-in-Commands, someone's going to need to be around to guide their batches during evacuation."

"Fine. I'll get to it."

Cody's going to need to know what's happening. Jonah and Leon, too. I worry about Cody, I'm not Kytes. I cannot  _not_ doubt—while we've been on Surface R, learning to survive, who knows what life down there in the cities had been like? I just hope if Cody does get out, he wouldn't be traumatized. And although I'd like to believe it's been easy and safe, for Nina and Thomas's sake, I can't help but worry for the little guy. I'll wait though, wait until I know there is no chance for Lori, no chance for Cody—despite of the grievances that will bring, especially for Corrin and Meeko. Although I believe that Cody is equipped enough, Meeko did say he gave him weapons, this is the Underground we're talking about. If I had the chance, the opportunity to go back, and not get stuck in a decontamination unit or something, would I?

I used to think I would, just to see Nina and Thomas again.

But I don't think I'd like to stay there. Up here, it's dangerous, sure, but you can feel the sun which hasn't changed even after the radiation downpour. At night, the stars come out, unlike it used to in lit up cities, and if we have a bonfire, Corrin and Lexie would sing, we'd follow, and the sound stretches up into the night air. And you get breezes which you never get underground, and the air hasn't been breathed by a thousand other people...

It doesn't make much difference anyway. I'm not going to get the chance.

I find a good spot, none too obvious for the sign. Cody, Jonah and Leon will spot it though. It's the usual place that we used to indicate to each other, whether or not we're using a base. It's hard deciding on a message that will tell them what needs to be known, that won't tell too much. The last thing we need at the moment is a bunch of unexpected visitors who've decided that if we're distracted by dangerous trees then now is the perfect time to move on in our territory. Eventually, I just decided on ' _Danger_ — _Code 003_ ' in the hope they'd remember what our previous dangers were before they left.

The sign posted, I return to the base.


	20. Part 05.2 CODY

**::CODY::**

I don't like the noise, I mean it.

There's a loud, constant buzzing, machine-y sound that's all around us, and I can't escape it no matter what I do. I try to put my hands over my ears, but I can still feel it.

How do people sleep in this place? It's not like the crickets chirping we have up there.

"Are you okay, Cody?" Nina asks me, looking concerned.

I shake my head. "No, not really." I make a face. "The noise bugs me, how do you get used to it? It's like—a million Rabid bees getting ready to attack! I'd never be able to relax, you see."

"Rabid bees," The quiet guy—Sean—who's walking ahead with Thomas makes a kind of delicate noise. "This place sounds more charming every passing a minute..." He's looking at Thomas, not me. "Is every human up there like  _him_?"

That's not nice at all.

"Do you want everyone up there to be like you?" Thomas shoots back, trying to sound just as insulting.

Sean looks at Thomas with my cold eyes—I say  _my_ because that's what they look like, a smaller, much squinted, less roundish version though. It was the same blue anyway.

"Humankind could only be so lucky. If every human were more like me, we wouldn't be wasting time with foolish expeditions like this."

Thomas scowls at him. "And everything would be a bundle of laugh, wouldn't it?" Like Trey, he seemed nice, but scary when in a bad mood.

"Stop fighting please," I frowns. "it's not nice."

Thomas looks at me. "But he's insulting you..."

"He's just scared, like the new kids that come," I tell him. "and Trey always said if you had the choice not to hate anyone, why should you?"

Thomas blinks, rubbing the back of his head. "Wow, getting schooled by a kid..."

But there is one thing that bothered me. Why is Sean so mean, particularly to me? Maybe not the same way those guards and that man were but still. He doesn't seem to like me a lot. Maybe it's the way I smell... The way I talked? Why does he hate me? I don't hate him, even though he's said some mean things. I still think he's really neat. His eyes are really nice, slanted and deep and a really pretty color. I mean, it's also my eye color but it looked better on him. And I think his hair would be like the one piece of silk Corrin said he had used back when I was a baby, that he had wrapped me in it. It's a little worn now, but the smoothness is still there. I never got tired of running my hands through it, over and over. It felt so smooth and soft and neat. It's not as smooth as when I was five, though. Looking at Sean's hair, I bet it feels the same.

And for some reason, I feel nostalgic—Uh, I think that means something like you missed a memory very much. I don't know why I'd feel that though, it's not like I've seen Sean before, since I've been living on Surface R my whole life so I couldn't have—

"Cody?"

Nina moves closer to take my hand and talk to me, my train of thoughts lost, "Yes?"

"You're going to lead us to our brothers, right? Once we get to the surface?"

I rub the back of my head. "Uh, yeah, sure. No problem."

Actually, I'm not sure. You never know what might have happened and if I get back to the base and Trey's gone. I'd have no idea where he went. We've got tons of different bases; I'd never know which one he decided to take. But it's okay, Meeko knows where I am, so he probably will think of something for me to know about it.

"Oh good, I can't wait to see him again!" Nina smiles brightly, then gives a little sideway glance to Thomas. She continued, almost shyly. "And Kytes... Is he okay?"

Some reasons make me think Nina sees Kytes the way some other girls look at Rhys. "Uh huh, he's okay."

"I never got to thank him..." Nina says, sounding distant. Her skin is pale, more like Thomas and Sean's than her brother's. She looks a bit sad, but there's a warm expression in there somewhere too. "He went to the surface himself to save me, but I never thanked him." Suddenly, she changes the topic. "How are you all doing up there anyway?"

I shrugs. "We're still alive, and that means we're doing okay. That's what Kytes tells me, anyway. As long as you live through the day, it's a good one." I tell her. "Rhys says a lot of kids die a lot in other areas, and the other ones at the time Trey had been sent up too died, except for eight of them." I frown, I don't like thinking about that.

"I'd want to be the first to go, if I were subjected to  _that_ for an extended period of time..." Sean remarks suddenly, from ahead of us.

I shiver, not liking the idea of him dying at all. I was gonna tell him that, but Thomas got to speak first. "Do you just not have anything pleasant to say? Or is this your  _happy_ mode?" he asks coolly.

"Excuse me," Sean frowns. "if being kidnapped and forced into such a counter-productive activity upsets me. I don't exactly relish the idea of becoming a— _savage_ like  _that_." He indicates the word towards me with a brief motion of his head, and his hair swishes nicely around his face, like silk.

I feel a wall of hurt gathering around in my chest area. "But I'm a  _who_ , not a  _that_." Why is he so mean? I just wanna be friends... I have never said anything mean or threatened him, have I?

"Here we are," Thomas announces suddenly.

Up ahead is a wall. I blink,  _What?_  "Um, Thomas, that's a wall." I point out, scratching the back of my head. What does he expect us to do, walk through it? It's not like we have Lori's powers... Wait, do they?

"You are either stupid or extremely ignorant—or both." Sean tells me, frowning as if I'm some bug that he'd love to squash under his boot. "I hope that I never become so ignorant. I can't imagine how you've managed to survive so long. You should be dead."

That really makes me sad. "Why would you want that?" I ask, keeping a tight hold of my powers. My watch tells me that I'm not using it, but the bars keep blinking. I take breaths. "I was never a bother to anyone, I've been careful so nothing would eat me alive, I've helped other people, I'm a good boy... I am..."

 _Yes, you're a good little guy, aren't you?_ I recall a familiar yet unknown voice telling me, who is that?

I shake my head. "I don't deserve to die if I'm good, right?" I sniff, my eyes feel wet.

"'Course you don't, bluebird." Thomas unzips his gloves, getting a cloth from one of the packs, he brushes the tears off my cheeks. He throws the cloth after in a nearby bin before glaring at Sean. "can you watch your tongue a little bit? Look, you made the kid cry."

Sean scoffs. "Emotion like that is a waste of time and energy, you could be putting those to better use."

"Agh," Thomas rolls his eyes and sighed. "we've got a long way to go with this one."

"You won't be getting far," Sean snaps. "I can promise you that."

"We'll see." Nina has been pressing buttons on the wall, and steps back for a moment. I nearly jumped when a part of the wall slides away. She chuckles, but not in a mean way. "that's supposed to happen."

"Oh,"

Thomas points up a little, "The guards are just up there," I can see where they stand. It's really weird to be looking at this tunnel from the other side of it.

I cling to Nina, she hugs my shoulders with an arm.

"Listen," Thomas turns to Sean, "you are going to walk quietly with us when we move passed them and you won't say or do anything that will give us away, understand?"

Sean looked like he wanted to punch the blond but he just nods. "Yes."

"Good."

We start forward. The guard looks at us when we make our way out toward the exit. They barely give Thomas, Nina, and Sean a second glance, but there's hostility on their faces when they looked at me.

"Do you have clearance to take the surface boy out?" One of them asks, eyeing me suspiciously.

I hide behind Nina.

"Naturally," Thomas gives them a cool grin and hands them a pass Doctor Roland gave us. One of them swipes it through some kind of mini-machine on the wall and scowls. Thomas raises a brow at them. "Everything should be in order there. Can we be on our merry way then, gentlemen?"

The Guard shove the key card back. "Get going," he says, not too kindly.

We move passed them and I'm back home. The machine noises are gone. I sigh with relief and left Nina. It was so tight and small in there; I didn't even realize how tense that made me until I got back outside and felt free again. It's so confining underground, I don't know how people can stand it—

"It's so... big." Nina whispers, sounding a little frightened. I look at her and see that she's staring up at the sky, eyes wide. "There's... There's nothing there. It's all open."

Thomas swallowed thickly. "It's going to take some getting used to." he admits. He looks nervous but not as much as Nina is. "we can handle it."

I look around. Everything seems ordinary to me. It's strange for me to think that they're uncomfortable out in the open like this; it doesn't make sense to me. I can hardly stand underground.

_How can they prefer that to this?_

"I don't understand how you can function like this?" There's a note of panic in Sean's voice. I looked at him and his eyes have gone a little wild. A little crazed. He's breathing so fast, it sounds like he's going to have a heart attack or go into a major panic or go rabid, or—or something. "How can you live, having no control of your surroundings? There's nothing to reach out for—there's too much open space, anything could be there—It's all out of control!"

I move to put a comforting hand on his arm, "It's oka—" He suddenly jerks away.

"Don't touch me! I'll have to stay in this forsaken place forever!" Sean shies away from me, cringing as if I have a horrible disease that's passed by touching.

I frown. "Sean, you're wearing a contamination suit. It doesn't matter if I touch you, and I just want to help."

"I don't want your pity!" Sean scowls. "I want to return to my proper surroundings as soon as possible!"

Thomas grunts in annoyance. "You're not returning, so be quiet." He snaps, before turning to me. "Are we going to start heading back toward your base now, Cody?"

"No, it's too far." I shake my head. "even if I wanted to, it's too dangerous to travel at night. I hope you guys know how to climb."

Thomas and Nina exchanged looks. "Why?"

"Well, because we need to get to higher ground if we're gonna be sleeping, if we all wanna sleep. It'll be dark... It wouldn't be a problem if I remembered to pack some night-vision goggles so I could see easier... I'll need a lot of open grounds around me to see if anything is coming..."

I say this like it's no big deal, because it's common sense up here. But Thomas and Nina listens to me like it means a lot. Sean—well, he's sulking since Thomas shut him up.

"If it's needed, I can stay awake and keep watch. Okay?"

Nina frowns, "Is it that dangerous?"

"Yup!" I answer cheerfully. "but you'll get used to it, and realize some dangers are worse than what commonly happens anyway. So this isn't anything. After a while, it comes natural."

I went over to a bush were I buried my bow and arrows awhile ago—or was that last night? I can't tell, my time bearing's messed up. I slung the quiver to my back, strapped the bow on my belt, before turning back to the others. They looked at me in silence.

"Um... What?" I ask, confused.

Thomas and Nina looked just as confused. "Uh, lead the way?"

"Me?" I blink. I'm leading them? But... "You're older, I should listen to you two, right?"

Thomas frowns. "Most of the time, yeah. But... You're more familiar on what to do up here so..."

"Oh." That made sense, but it's still weird to think of it. "Um, okay. This way."

They followed me, not even Sean says anything. I can see him out of the corner of my eye though—he's got his arms crossed tightly and he looks miserable. I wish I could say something nice, maybe pat his back to comfort like what Lori does for Meeko. But I remember what happened the first time—he obviously doesn't like me much.

_Why, though?_

I like him. He's good to look at, and he talks in such a neat, precise tone, it's actually nice to listen to, even when he's complaining. And I don't think he's such a bad person for complaining. He's just scared, like newcomers that we get every year. Batch Four had a lot of complainers, which was why Jenny can be a little sour and strict, even more than Trey. No one blames her, she's still nice, deep down. Even when she fights with guys a lot, being the Older Female Leader. I wonder why Sean has to come if he doesn't want to, though. Maybe I'll ask Thomas or Nina about it later. 

A bit later, we're able to find where to stay for the night. The High place is sort of like a low cliff—it's got a swamp full of quicksand on the side, where it slopes up evenly, though. So we'll have to climb the steeper way. It's only a few feet, and there are plenty of hand and foot holds. I scrambled up quickly and reach a hand down to help the others.

"This is silly," Thomas grunts. "I'm eldest, I should be helping you out. I'm sorry, Cody." he apologises.

I grin at him. "I don't mind being the more reliable one."

"That wasn't my point..." Thomas sighs. He makes it up with help from me, after a few attempts.

Nina readily accepts my hand, probably because she learned from watching the blond struggle. When I look back, though, Sean is just standing there.

"Come on, Sean." I urge, holding out a hand. "Climb up!"

He looks at me like I'm insane. "I can't climb that!"

"It's not that hard," I smile at Sean, trying to encourage him. Not like any friendly attempts I've made have helped at all, though. "Nina and Thomas managed okay. Come on, you put one foot up on that ledge."

"I'll fall." Sean replies flatly, staring at the ledge with extreme distaste. "This is dangerous."

"Okay, then I'll help you." I scoot over, hooking my legs around some dead thick roots from a thick plant that isn't visible anywhere on the surface. The roots have been there forever and I've used this place tons of times, so they're not a danger. The Northwest base is nearby a couple miles. I leaned over the ledge and hold out both arms, "Come a little closer, I can't reach you."

Sean stares at me, expressionless. But whatever drug Doctor Roland gave him works still, because he moves over so that I can reach him. I hooked my hands under his arms. This is the first time I've been able to touch him, and he does not look happy about it. He's glaring at me. I sighed sadly.

"Put your hands on my shoulders, and brace your feet against the cliff when I lift you up, okay?"

Sean looks as if he'd rather stick a live snake down his throat, but he does what I say. He's really warm, I like the feeling. It's nice and he feels soft. I lift him off the ground. He's not very heavy, but I'm not exactly as strong and muscular as Trey, either. It's hard and I can barely manage, but someone who noticed my struggle, either Thomas or Nina, grabbed my forearms from behind, so all I had to do was grip tightly on Sean and we managed to pull Sean up.

Sean gets to his feet with much dignity as he can muster, and moves as far away from me as possible.

"Yeah, you're welcome." I hear Thomas snort, he must've been the one who helped me.

I sighed. I don't get it.  _What'd I do?_

Thomas and Nina both have fire starters things in those packs that Doctor Roland gave, but I don't let them start one. It'd be like a beacon, and we're trying to keep out of sight from things that might want to attack us. But they have blankets tucked into little bundles that they can use to keep warm. I don't need one, really. Sean complains about the cold, but no one listens. We're getting into the habit of ignoring him, I think. I still feel sorry for him; he's practically turning blue and he's shivering and muttering under his breath. But I can't do anything, because he won't even let me near him. 

I have to ask what I did. I just can't stand it any more. 

I wait until Thomas and Nina are asleep. I can tell they are, because they 're relaxed and they breathe heavy. I can tell Sean isn't because he's still shivering and muttering, about what he'll do to everyone who forced him into this once he gets back to wherever it is he came from. I walked over and sit next to where he's trying to sleep, I'm still mostly concentrating on listening for movement around us. I wished Lexie was here to tell me if anything was coming.

"Sean?" I say softly. Forgetting not to, I reach out to get his attention.

"Don't you dare!" Sean barks, eyes flashing angrily. "Get away from me!"

I pull my hand back. "Sorry," I say, feeling hurt and confused and wishing I could be angry so it wouldn't be painful, but I really want him to like me. My watch beeps lowly as warning, and I take my breaths, before going on to what I wanted to ask. "Why do you hate me? What did I do?"

"I don't hate you as long as you keep your distance," Sean says, coldly. "Is there a purpose to this conversation? I don't appreciate having my breath wasted talking for no reason."

"I wanna know why you're always so mad at me," I say with a frown. That was what I asked even on the first time, wasn't it?

"I hate this place," Sean answers shortly. "I hate everything about it, and you're part of it. I don't want to end up like you, dirty, and ignorant and a complete savage. It's the worst thing I can possibly imagine for myself. I want to go back and access my data program and punish everyone who thought about subjecting me to do this. I don't want to waste my breath talking with you further." He turns his back from me.

"But I like you," I say quietly.

I'm not sure if he hears me. He doesn't answer either way.

"I don't understand why we can't just be friends. I don't understand why you hate me."

Sean says nothing still. I watch him for a moment then turn away, concentrating on keeping watch for danger.


	21. Part 05.3 THOMAS

**::THOMAS::**

"Thomas,"

I wave vaguely to let Nina know that I need some more sleep. It can't be time to get up yet. My Shift doesn't start till noon, and I know it isn't noon yet cause I didn't hear the buzzer. It's been quiet, too quiet actually—

"Thomas, you gotta get up, please."

I blink rapidly, and let my eyes stay open. There's grass in front of my face.

_Oh..._

"Morning Cody," I say, yawning, and roll over. "nice morning, just a touch early, don't you think?"

Cody shakes his head, "We can't waste day light." He smiles sheepishly. Up all night, and he looks wide awake.

 _Damn,_ I think. _I should've offered to take turns keeping watch..._  Whether I'd be as reliable or not is the question.

Cody's crouched next to me, one hand on my plastic-encased shoulder to shake me awake. He notices me looking and pulls it back. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." I tell him, "I don't mind being touched, it's Sean who's sensitive about it."

A brief flash of unhappiness passes over his face.

"Why is he like that? Is it something I said? He says he hates this place and hating it means including me." Cody whines, fiddling with a little pacifier thing on his neck. I frown, deciding to ask about what was up with that later _._ "But I don't understand."

I took a look at his face—open, honest, and very trusting—and sigh. He can't understand that kind of resentfulness, he probably never felt it. I doubt he ever hated anyone, because he doesn't seem to hate Sean—more like he wanted his approval. And if he can't despise that jerk, he couldn't possibly hate anyone.

I envy him. He doesn't understand Sean's hostility but I'll try to explain it to him anyway.

"Sean wasn't what you'd call a normal human being," I begin.

Cody raises a brow.

"Uh, just try to get the general idea, kid." I say, sensing his confusion. "you remember the machines that you heard when we were underground?"

"It's so loud. I don't think I can forget."

"Well, they run the whole Underground." I explain. "So they're pretty important." I grin wearily at myself. Pretty important... Yeah, they're only what keeps everybody living down there alive. "And Sean was in charge of keeping them running, you could say he was the machine. He's been doing that sort of things his whole life, so this is a huge change. He's not going to adjust well right away, no matter what we say or do."

Cody appears to think about that. "But why is he up here if he's so important? Trey told me only kids they don't need are sent away."

 _Wow_ , I think.  _Just how much of a big deal is Trey to this kid?_  I decide to think on that later and answer the given question. "Because it would've killed him."

Cody didn't like that, if his grimace was anything to go by. I think I wouldn't mind, even if I did agreed to take him with me to save his skin. Lindsay had no clue that he was a lot of baggage.

"Another year, he'd be dead. He still doesn't believe that, but it's the truth." I continue. "It happened once to his brother, Luke. The machines would've drained him completely. Nina was training to be Sean's replacement, and that's how we found out."

Cody nod slowly. "So he's... running away?"

"Oh, no." I laugh. If only it were that simple. We wouldn't be having this conversation now. "we're carrying him away. He's being dragged, kicking and screaming."

Cody looks at Sean. "I don't know, he's been pretty quiet unless he's complaining. He hasn't kicked me once, either. And he can walk fine, so we didn't need to drag him." he states.

I really don't want to explain figurative language to him now, so I ignore the assessment.

"So," Cody speaks again. "he doesn't want to go because he liked being this machine and he doesn't believe you when you say it's going to kill him?"

"It's not going to kill me." Sean isn't looking a us, but his eyes are open. He looks sullen as he did before; obviously sleep hasn't sweetened his disposition noticeably. "that's a foolish notion. I'm far too important. They need me alive. Lindsay was planting those false rumors herself in an attempt to get me out of the city. I can't imagine what her reasons might've been."

I sigh deeply, rubbing my face.  _It's too early to deal with this shit..._  "Yeah, good morning. I slept well, thanks. How did you sleep?" Not like I really care though.

Sean looks at me coldly. Sean does not like me at all, I can tell. But who cares? I don't have a very high regard for him, either. He's less hostile to Nina. Then again, it's hard to be hostile to her. Sean manages a bit because he's good at resenting us all. I have to admit, he's quite talented in sulking.

 _Now there's something to be proud of,_  I snort.

"Horribly, if you must know," Sean scoffs. "to top it all off, I had those recurring dreams that made no sense."

I raise a brow, "Recurring dreams? Like?"

Maybe they were his memories... If he regains them, maybe he'd be much more easier to deal with, much more human, maybe I can help—

"I do not see how it's any business of yours to know,"

Never mind, I could care less.

"Anyway, I was—yawn—attempting to make up for that but your chattering hardly helps me do it."

_Oh, now I'm the chatterbox? He's unbelievable—_

"We have to get up anyway," Cody cuts in quietly. "we're going to waste light. You're always saying we shouldn't be wasteful, we should get going soon."

Sean grunts. "Wonderful," he makes no move to get up. "I get practically no sleep and I'm expected to function well? That is one of the most impractical things I've ever heard."

"You think everything the kid does is impractical," I scowl. "And hello? He stayed up, too. And it's to make sure we're safe, unlike you. You just keep sulking." I'm resentful. He knows it. Good. "He survived for years, by the rate you're going, you won't make it through a day. Not listening to Cody is a good way to get killed."

"Fine!" Sean snaps, sitting up and pushing aside his blankets. "But I can't be blamed if I fail to function properly. I sincerely hope you are at least planning to allow us to eat."

Cody nods. "Uh-huh, always eat in the morning." He said. "you never know what might happen, and how long it'll be before you get your next meal"

I put a hand on Nina's shoulder to wake her—she's already at least partly there, because of the noise—and then go through the bags Doctor Roland gave us to get the nutrients that we can inject through the contamination suits.

"Grace," I say sarcastically, inserting the tube into the little slot in the front mechanism. I'm going to feel hungry, inhaling nutrients is not the best way to eat.

Cody is just biting into a nice, big apple. I wish that I could be in his place; it's torture watching him eat. I'm extremely envious of his situation. He likes it up here, he's used to it. He doesn't have to worry about pollution or contamination, because he's been exposed to the atmosphere for seven years. He has nothing to worry about where that sort of thing is concerned.

I'm not the only one watching Cody eat. Nina shoots a longing glance in the direction of the apple as well even as she copies my example. Sean is glaring at Cody. I think he's trying to find something wrong in the way the little bluebird is eating so he can make a comment about how disgusting our guide is. But he doesn't get a chance. Obviously, eating neatly is another safety precaution they take up here. That makes sense though.

"Well," Cody begins cheerfully—and I think he's usually that than anything else—after burning the apple core. "time to get going!" He stands and dusts off his hands.

I shrug and follow his example.

**—O—**

Our journey is less than eventful at first, but it's so quiet. I can't help but feel tense. I understood where Sean was coming from, it seems unnaturally open up here. We're exposed, vulnerable, and there aren't any metal walls to protect us from attacks. Danger could come at us from any side. I'm really starting to miss the comforting hum of the machines. I hated the damn things but at least I'd know that my safety was being taken care of. It's embarrassing to admit, but I'm realizing being responsible for my own well-being isn't as fun as I'd thought it might be—to top it all off, our best chances of survival lies on the guidance of a cheery yet sensitive ten year old.

Not that I think Cody was unreliable, he's been great so far. But there is definitely something messed up about three adolescences counting on someone younger to protect them.

"There," Cody suddenly stopS, and indicates a swampy area. "this is the dangerous part. The swamp goes all around our base and we can't skip around it. So we gotta go through it. Watch out for Rabids."

I frown, scratching his head. "You mentioned that yesterday, uh, about bees I think." he says. "what exactly are they?"

"Uhh, it's a shortened version of what Rhys calls, umm... Let me think... Radiated Affected Bestial Intellectual Defects..."

I give him a dry look. "I can see why you went with Rabid."

"Heh, yeah," Cody laughs a bit. "Rhys first came up with them, but Corrin figured it was best to go with the shortcut version since that was an actual word. Well, let's get going and—" He moves to keep going.

I grab his arm and pulled him back. "Hold on, what kind of Rabids are we talking about exactly?"

"Any kind," Cody shrugs, oblivious to my alarming tone. "they're dangerous, all of 'em. Even Rabid squirrels. I dunno if they could bite you through the suits, but you don't want to take the chance. I just learned how to heal radiation in a person, but it'd be hard without the right tools."

I can feel Sean stiffen up where I'm standing. "You can't want me to go in there." he says, sounding incredulous. "that is ridiculous. It's a waste of time and danger to our well-being. I'd sooner be killed than contaminated. Even if that foolish rumor Lindsay tricked you into believing was true, I'd rather be there than here. At least I'd go out in a comfortable environment."

"Except you've got more chance not dying here, so shut up." I snap. "You're going in with us." I tell him flatly and let the drug do the rest before turning back to Cody. "Why are the animals in here defected? And they're all trying to kill us?"

Cody shrugs. "There's real bad, contagious radiation in there. We usually pass by here quick whenever we actually need to use this way. But we never stay longer than an hour, or it might get us sick. We're not sure, we never had that issue and I don't think I want to start now. If you get cut or eat stuff from in there, though, then it doesn't matter how quick you get out of it. Then you can change, like the Rabids... You could go crazy." He tells me. "Oh, and yeah, they're all going try and eat us."

"Eat us? Like, alive?" Nina repeats, shock.

I frown. "Squirrels, too?"

"Uh-huh, they travel in group, at least, the smaller ones usually do... Oh, but I should mention that a Rabid is larger than the normal version of that animal—and, uh, if we don't start moving, I'll risk getting sick. So, um, I'll just tell Jack to show you his Rabid Squirrel bite mark. He was sure lucky to survive."

I make a look. "Uh, thanks—polite pass though." Then I realize with a start. "They really eat you alive?" I suddenly have a really bad feeling about this.

"If they catch you," Cody say, "don't worry, just so long as you can run—"

"I've never had to exert myself once in my life," Sean tells him coldly. "I'm not even sure I know how to run, at least, not without injuring myself."

Cody smiles at him. "I can run," he says. "even when I've had to carry some people along with me. If you need me to, I can carry you and we'd still get away. I'm really fast." He smiles in pride.

Sean eyes him with distaste. "I'll manage."

Cody frowns, "Oh, all right. I guess... I know some shortcuts, too."

"Well, if we're going to go..." Nina bites her lip and steps forward bravely. "let's go."

I'm even more tense inside the swamp. Our boots make awful squishy noises in the loose water. Cody's footsteps avoids it, since he's footwear is not as protected. So he's hardly making any noise, but the three of us are causing quite a racket. I get the feeling that's not a good thing. I really don't like silence.

"This is really dangerous... So open... We should turn back..."

Sean's voice has a bit of a higher note in it, like he's on the verge of panic. No one answers. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cody move discreetly to his side, not touching him but still there in case he's needed. I shake my head, amused. The little bluebird is quite a character. He's been insulted and hurt and he doesn't even hold a grudge. He's even looking out for Sean's well-being. I feel selfish for thinking so, but I'm glad he's taken that job for himself. So I don't feel obligated to have to.

We come to a narrow passage, blocked off by trees on either side. There's room for a single person to pass through, though—We'll have to go through one at a time. I looked at Cody for an instruction.

"Huh, it looks burnt." Cody frowns. "this wasn't here before either..." He bites his lip, then shrugs. "Well, things are always changing here. It's fine, we'll just go one at the time. Okay? I'll go first since I'm pretty sure I'm fastest. Um, Thomas, if you don't mind—" he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, sharp dagger. "if there's trouble, would you go last?"

I don't like the idea, but it makes sense. It's time for me to act like the eldest. "All right." I take it. It's surprisingly light, and it fits my hand nicely.

"If there's something coming, yell. I'll start running, and I'll take Sean along if I need to. If you have to, slash at its face. Then you and Nina run fast as you can. If you can stay ahead of it, you can lose it. I know intelligent means bright, but we just call Rabids that because they are smarter than normal ones. Actually, they're not that smart compared to people."

I nod. "Gotcha," I give him a wry grin. "I have high regard for my own skin. I'll run, trust me."

"I do. That's why I asked you," Cody smiles nicely to me. "Trey says the most trustworthy to take care of themselves and others are assigned at the rear to watch the front's back."

 _Jeez,_ I'm a little flustered with the compliment. I can see why Trey may have hang around the kid often... his good vibes is infectious...  _And good for the ego...._

Cody starts forward again.

"Go after him." I instruct Sean, when he looks at me as if to say don't make me do this. And I don't tell him I really didn't like to do it, either. Sean can't help but do what I say. He's still under the compulsion of the medicine. I gestured Nina to follow. Then it's my turn. We don't talk as we moved through.

I think, for the most part, we're all creep out. Except Cody. None of us wants to make noise that'll call down a Rabid whatever on us. Our boots keeps squishing. Although annoying, I'm glad it's the only noise I hear.

Then there's a growl.

"Um... Cody?" I turned, but nothing's there. "I heard something..."

"Shh," The bluebird stops and listen. We've all stopped and there's just silence so Cody could listen. Then there's another growl. "Okay," The kid says quietly but seriously than he's ever been so far. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to keep on walking and try to be really quiet. When we're out of this tunnel thingy, then we start running. And we don't stop until we're all the way out of this swamp, okay?"

The urgent tone in those words, considering it came from Cody, is enough to make me quite scared, but I try not to show it. I can't have a younger kid putting a braver front than me, even if he has the excuse that he's used to it.

"All right."

"If it attacks before then, you have to do what I told you before." Cody continues. "If it gets close, slash at its face. Try for the eyes. Then run. Promise?"

I tighten my grip on the knife. "Okay." And we all start walking again. It's about twenty seconds later when the thing attacks. I hear it moving behind me before I see anything. "CODY, GO!" Then I turn, and I'm facing a monster.

And I mean monster. It's hideous, and it doesn't look like anything I've seen before, even counting horror or thriller movies. It's on its hind legs, and there's a huge amount of girth on it. Its hands have long, sharp claws, and its face is grotesquely twisted. Above gleaming fangs, it's eyes are bright with an awful kind of madness.

Never mind slashing, I make a run for it.

Fortunately, the others are already running ahead of me. Cody's got Sean's wrist in a tight grip and is practically dragging the taller boy behind him. He's still moving faster than Nina, who's just ahead of me. I don't catch up to her, but I'm moving faster than big and beautiful behind me.

"Keep running!" Cody yells back as we come out of the tunnel thing. He turns Sean around deftly and loops both arms around his waist, lifting him one feet off the ground. Sean steadies himself by bracing his hands on the kid's head. It's amazing that the bluebird is still faster, and maybe a little comical at the awkward positioning.

With Sean securely held, Cody sprints ahead, slower than a while ago, but still way faster. Even running fast as I can, I don't think I can keep up with him. He's probably even going slower so we could keep up. If every creature is like—that thing, this place is a nightmare!

Still, running for your life on a regular basis, away from creatures like those, I see how Cody gets to do it fast.

"Almost there!" Cody calls out, sounding tired but still calm.

 _How the fuck can he be so calm?!_ I don't think I could speak now without my voice sounding hysteric. I'm that panicked.

Then we're out of the swamp and back in a bleak, empty landscape. There's a line of thick trees a few miles ahead of us. Cody stops at this point, setting Sean down, but still holding him. I forced myself to stop, though the memory of barely escape run from the monster makes me want to keep running.

"What... was... that?!"

Cody shrugs. SHRUGGED, like it was nothing he wasn't used to—which could be true, but still! How does one sane person get used to it?!

"Rabid bear," He tells us. "that wasn't so bad actually."

"THAT WASN'T BAD?!" I grumble. "I nearly died of a heart attack!"

Cody stiffens, and looked a little scared.

"I—sorry bluebird," I take a deep breath, "It's just... It was scary."  _Understatement of the millennia._

Cody nod, "I'm sorry for playing it off, but that's how it is up here. It's the life I've always known," he tells me. "I didn't grow up Underground, not like some of the older kids, so this kind of living is all I really know. I didn't mean to be inconsiderate to you."

I don't know what to say. Sure, I'm sorry and a little guilty. But then, ignorance is bliss, and maybe it's best that Cody has nothing to compare it to.

"It's okay, I guess I get it." I tell him. "Oh, and I'm sorry I broke my promise... I didn't get him on the face."

Cody nods. "That's fine, I was scared my first time, seeing it too. But there are really more dangerous things, that one isn't so bad because Rabid bears usually travel alone. It's the packs like wolves we usually worry about." He explains, and it made sense. "That's why we gotta stick together, there are strength in numbers after all. If we don't help each other, no one else will."

We're interrupted before I could reply.

"Let go of me." Sean says, sounding a touch breathless, but still very cold. "Immediately."

"Oh—" Cody lets him go. "Sorry."

I scowl. "How about a thank you? He just saved your skin!" I snap. "you should learn to run by yourself. You're going to need to know how. It's not fair for Cody to have to carry you every single time."

"I don't mind." Cody assures me. "He's lighter than Lexie, and I had to carry her once all the way from one side of the base to another."

Sean interrupts  _again_ damn it. "I will not need to know how to run! I will be back where I belong and I'll erase this memory—"

"You're not going back." Two can play the interruption game. "So just be quiet."

Nina looks down at Cody with wide eyes. "So are we going to meet up with more things like that?" She ask.

I think she's about frightened as I was. Then again, she didn't see the close up look of the bear. I don't think my heart will ever be the same again.

"Maybe," Cody tells her. "but we're out of the most dangerous part. So the rest should be pretty—" He pauses, staring ahead of us.

I lookup. "What?" I frown. "Danger?"  _Oh jeez, not again..._ I'm just feeling the kinks of suddenly exerting myself in a sprint when I rarely even needed to run underground, I'm not ready to go again. "Can we hide instead?"

"The sign!" Cody looks upset. Before I can asks what he means, he's running ahead. All we can do is follow. "There's not suppose to be one like this here! It's—" he stops again and coming to a halt, beside a small slab of board stuck into the ground in a place where I would never have spotted.

And Cody's mouth falls open. "What?" I ask, "what does it mean?" I get close enough to read the English—thank god—words printed on the front.  _Danger—Code 003_. I narrow my eyes. _Well, that makes a lot of sense. What's a code three?_

"What does it mean?" Nina echoes when Cody doesn't reply.

The bluebird looks at the line of trees ahead of us. "It means we're in trouble." he answers vaguely. "And so are Trey and the others. Wait here... I'll check where it's safe to pass by—Oh by the way," he turns back after a thought. "It's not really the animals you should worry about so much as the plants."

With no other warning, he sprints off.

"What does he mean by that?" Nina looks worried.

I share her concern but tried not to look as troubled. "Let's hope we won't find out. Sean, sit down. You need to rest."

All of us did.


	22. Part 05.4 SEAN

**::SEAN::**

My, my, our Surface guide is just a spring of comforts today, isn't he? He actually decided to go off and leave us defenseless. How irresponsible.

"Are you okay, Nina?" Thomas asks.

Nina nods, "I'll be fine," she whispers. "Thomas, how can people live here?"

"Hey," Thomas pats her shoulder gently. "it'll be okay. They survived, so we'll be able to, as well... Maybe."

I speak up. "You know," I begin. "we could be back at the entrance to the tunnels tomorrow," 

Both of them look at me. "We're not going back."

I huff. "Are you sure this is really what you want?" I ask them. "Whatever you believe about the Underground, can it really be worse than this?"

"We haven't seen all of up here yet," Thomas replies evenly, although I think he's struggling with his temper.

"How much more do you need to see?" I ask incredulously. "When our guide returns, if indeed he does, I suggest we demand to be taken back."

Nina frowns. "What do you mean if? Cody will return." She sounds upset. I think this is the first time I've seen her display that emotion. "Anyway, we can't demand anything from him now. Doctor Roland told me he only has a limited amount of time in which Lori can be cured. We're delaying him enough as it is."

"I didn't think of that," Thomas looked concerned. "we've got a lot to thank him for."

 _Thank him?_  I clench my fists. "We are superior to the sub-human creature in every way—the fact that we have to demean ourselves by relying on him for help should alert you to the fact that we don't belong here and should return—"

"Enough." Thomas has not lost his temper enough to yell but the venomous tone of his whisper is worse. "I'm really getting sick of your attitude Sean. If you can't contribute anything positive to the conversation, then—"

Suddenly, we heard rustling. We stiffen.

"Shh," Thomas says, preparing the knife Cody has given him. Moving forward to some bushes so that Nina—and consequently, I'm—behind.

A second later, a boy lunges out and attacks. Thomas yelps and reacted fast enough to deflect the blade but he's still knocked down.

"Who are you? Speak up!" The boy demands.

Thomas gasps. "I... I..." He falters.

"Wait!" Cody's voice is heard. I look up and see him standing next to a young man with green hair, except for the blond coloring near the ends. "Ah! Jonah, stop!"

Another boy follows in agreement. "Johannes, stand down."

"Cody?" Our attacker blinks. He stands and goes to our guide. "Are you unharmed? I ask that you come to me for assistance instead of going alone the next time you try to do such a risky task."

Our guide blinks up at him. "You wouldn't mind leaving Leon? You rarely want to, you always say you'd miss his kis—"

The one called Jonah covers his mouth. "Cody," his face was red. "that is our secret, right?"

I am slightly intrigued,  _What was a secret?_

"Oh yeah," Cody look embarrassed. "Sorry."

Jonah pats his head before turning to us, "I apologize terribly for the assault, it was in bad form of me."

"Uh... It's fine?" Thomas's brows knitted together. "I think?"

"I'm Johannes, but to make it simpler, I allow everyone here to call me Jonah."

The other guy was calling out to some people we can't see. "It's safe, you can come forth," he says before heading beside Jonah. "G'day, you have to excuse my mate here, but he's a good chap, he just usually has his knickers in a twist."

"Uh, you're mate—like, boyfriend?" Thomas asks.

I look at him with a raise brow, "Don't be ridiculous, males do not have intimate relationships with their fellow gender." I scoff. "It would be counter productive to the continuation of the human species.

For some reasons unknown, the one called Jonah gives me an angry look while the no-name young man looked calm.

"My apologies, I forgot to mention that we came from another division—we also use the word mate to refer to a male friend." The other guy says. Jonah left for a while, but it was strange, I could've sworn he was just there a moment ago. "But where are my manners, good day to you, chaps and lady. My name is Leonidas, likewise, to make it easier, you can address me as Leon. And I take it this is the rest of Batch Eight. So far, they're the fewest lot. I thought it would be seven, since they were only fifty this time."

 _Only fifty?_ I raise a brow. I do not really understand what they are referring to, but fifty is not a quantity considered few. It is the total of the underground levels, after all.

Cody blink. "Eight? I thought the next batch would be seven."

"Yeah, Batch seven came two days ago." Leon tells him.

Thomas places a hand on top of Cody's head. "Batch? Like, of cookies?"

"No, it's what we call the groups of Orphans that come live with us, if they live long enough for us to find them." Cody tells us. "they're numbered by the sequence of coming."

Suddenly, two familiar faces come by with three unfamiliar ones. "I knew that voice sounded familiar," Lindsay beams, "Thomas, you're all okay! What a relief!"

"Lindsay?" Thomas looked just as surprised, "well, that was fas—"

Uncharacteristically, Lindsay embraces the blond, "Yeah, these guys sure know how to take a faster route." She smiled. "How are you guys holding up?"

"Uh," Thomas looked a little flush, maybe due to the close proximity. "We're—okay, for the most parts." he clears his throat.

Lindsay nods as Doctor Roland and their three other companions come forward. "We meet again, it was so fortunate that we had these two guiding us. We got to catch up with you two quicker than anticipated with no trouble at all."

 _How lucky for them..._ I think bitterly.

"We were actually assigned to go after Cody," Jonah looks at the youngest guide, "but I suppose you were way ahead of us."

Lindsay looks at them, "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Boys, these are Thomas, Nina, and of course you know of Sean." she gestures to each of us respectively. "Thomas, this is Mitchell. The oldest of three brothers," she pats the heads of the two younger ones. "Milo and Mickey."

"Fortunately, alive to care for the younger ones, unlike a certain Spring older brother." Thomas quips. Lindsay gives him a disapproving look. "Sorry, too soon?"

Mitchell steps in, "Hey Thomas, how was helping Lindsay with her campaign for a better human kind?" He smirks, "I expect it wasn't easy, her power of persuasion being uncanny and all." he laughs when Lindsay smacks his arm.

"Pfft, no kidding." The blond rolls his eyes before getting a good look on Mitchell. "You look as old as me," Thomas raises a brow, "I thought that would clear orphans from being sent up."

Mitchell shrugs. "Well, yeah, but when she told us about the councilors shady dealings with human life, we rather take our chances with Lindsay. Unfortunately, it was a last minute decision, so they weren't able to secure suits for us." he looks at himself. "but we seem to be fine, so far. At least, I just have to sleep over the sound of cricket noises than the annoying hum of machines."

"Hm, funny, I used to think the same thing, until much recently." Thomas says darkly. "you haven't seen a Rabid bear yet, have you?"

Mitchell blink, "A what?"

"Figures."

Leon looks alarmed, glancing over at Cody, "You encountered a Rabid bear? And you are unharmed?"  he goes to look him over.

"I'm fiiiine," Cody giggles, "Leon, stop touching everywhere, that tickles."

Jonah sighs in relief. "Honestly, I'm gonna kill whoever saw him leave and allowed it." he notices Nina and Thomas glancing at him in confusion. "Cody is a favorite, by most people up here. His absence, while not a priority concern, still troubled a lot of us."

"Makes sense." Thomas nods. "he's a good kid."

Jonah agrees, smiling a bit. "That, he is."

"Miiiiiiitcheeeeell," One of the twins whines. "I'm getting tired, and hungry..."

Mitchell sighs. "Mickey, I am too. We all are, be quiet." he scolds but still bent down to carry him on his back. "just hang in there a bit more."

Leon looks at them with consideration, "Don't fret, lads. We'll be there soon. Now that the introductions are completed, we can proceed." he looked at Cody and frowned a bit. "Well Cody, since you have Lori to return to for the cure, why don't we take your group to the next base? We'll be evacuating everyone else there soon, anyway."

"Well... Since Kytes and Trey are probably still staying in the hotel, since my batch always stayed behind until Trey is sure no one got left behind, I wanna take Nina and Thomas there first. I'm sure they'd want to see them first. Maybe you can take Sean—"

I interrupts. "I refuse," I scowl. "if it means having to stay in the presence of Miss Caghan."

"Well, isn't he a charmer," Leon muses, "I see you don't quite fancy her."

Jonah narrows his eyes. "Jee, you think. Well, time is a luxury that we mustn't squander. Oh, Cody, they're surrounding the base, by the way. But they haven't breached the south bank yet. It looks as though they don't know about the entrance there. So you can pass through there. Now,  Doctor Roland and company, let's  be off then, Cheerio. Take care of yourself, Cody."

"I will, thanks!"

Jonah gives Thomas a look, "I apologize again for earlier, but please try to watch out for Cody, too. If I don't hurt you first  for not at least trying, Corrin probably will." he says lightly.

"Uh, yeah, I can do without the threat." Thomas raises a brow as their group departed. "... Cheerio?"

Cody answers automatically. "It means good bye, too."

"Who's surrounding the base?" Nina asks.

Our young guide has frowns. "It's been a problem lately, trees that had been somehow warped by contact with radiation stuff." he said.

"You're worried about trees?"

"On the plus side, they don't move quickly. So you can all out run them, even Sean. But on the down side, it's hard to tell a warped tree from a normal one, until you're attacked by it." Cody sighs, "Kytes told me about their encounter, it was a close call, but they all got out of it since Trey saved them."

Thomas has this worried look. "And Kytes, he's okay?"

"Uh-huh, okay enough to carry the one who was actually injured in their group." Cody smiles in assurance. "Now just stick right behind me, and keep your eyes and ears open. I'm going to take you in the South entrance,"

By this point, it was all I could do just to put one foot in front of the other. We had to get to this base—otherwise, I would just collapse.  I wonder what the others would do then. Probably leave me. But if they'd ostensibly come all this way to save my life, they wouldn't just give up like that. I'd probably be given to Cody to carry—

"And now we go down there." Cody speaks up.

I blink. What looked like regularly cut steps are there in the ground, sloping down the doorway.

"What is human workmanship doing in a jungle like this?" Thomas asks the very question I'd been pondering.

Cody scratches the back of his head. "Jungle? No, that can't be. A Jungle is found in the wilderness, or so Rhys tells me." We all stare at him, puzzled.

_Does he not see where we are at the moment? Does he not know where he's been living all this time and what it's called?_

"And he also told me this used to be a city, uhm, a place with buildings? Before radiation. This is on the outskirts a bit, but there are those stuff that used to be called buildings all over the place. You can't see them well because they're mostly covered in moss or whatevers, but we were walking on an abandoned road earlier."

"Oh yeah, people used to live here..." Nina hums quietly to herself before shaking her head. "so where do the steps go?"

"They're the back entrance to our base, it's what used to be a grand hotel building." Cody tells us. "the older kids fixed it up to suit us back when I was still a baby. I'd have preferred to take you through the front way so you at least got to see the grand entrance, but the back door will have to do. Follow me," He says.

I blink again as my eyes readjust to the underground light. "What is this?"

"Parking lot." Cody answers. "it's under the hotel—spreads out for ages. Come on, we have a way long path to go through."

I'm a lot happier to follow them this time. The very fact that we are underground, with walls and ceiling between us and any threat made me feel safer—

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

—although possibly that feeling was misplaced. I look at the crude weapons held by those who surround us. Although primitive to be sure, they would still be able to accomplish their task of killing us.

"Wah! Wait!"

Cody yelps as someone grabbed him, bringing him closer to the hostiles. Thomas tries to take him back but he had to step back as more of them pointed spears at us, both Thomas and Nina had their hands up in surrender. I cross my arms tightly, showing my disdain.

"It's okay Cody, you're safe now."

Cody struggles to get down. "No Bryce, please wait," He's settles back to his feet. "they're good guys!"

"But they came from the underground, they have those weird looking suits, too." The one called Bryce frowns. "they didn't threaten you to bring them here?"

Another one of them sighs, the one currently having his spear pointed to Thomas, drops his weapon to lean on it. The rest don't, but they seem less imposing than earlier. "I told you, Bryce. Besides, if the Underground did force Cody to bring them back here, he could've just waited for them to be attacked by Rabid whatevers and then escape." He holds his hands up and all at once, the weapons were brought down, the savages moving back.

"Dillan! Hey!" Bryce grumbles. "I'm batch leader, wait for my command!"

A girl narrows her eyes. "We only ever agreed on that because you're actually reliable when you're not in those ' _I want to take Trey's place_ ' mode. Otherwise," she pointed her thumb  towards the one who called off the weapons. "it's better to listen to Dillan, since his judgement isn't based on idiotic notions."

"Who are you calling an idiot, Jane?"

"She was talking about your notions," Dillan smirks, "Although since it is your notions, yeah, that works, too."

The three of us just watched and observed, unsure what to think with our previous attackers arguing among themselves.

"Okay, what's all the fuss about?"

One by one, they Surface dwellers make way for the newcomer who spoke. Nina gives a little gasp and Thomas curses as his eyes widens. I looked around but the only thing that might occasioned such a response is the one just joining the gathering. Like the other surface people, he is tanned and sturdy looking wearing clothes worn like Cody's and with an even worse, messier haircut, and it would probably be even worst if he didn't have that bandana. There is something oddly familiar in the shape of his face, his eyes—

"What's all this then? Bryce trying to act without orders again?" The newcomer smirks, Bryce looked chagrined. The Newcomer just laughed till Cody tackles him, and his laugh changed to a gasp. "CODY?! Oh thank goodness, you're back!" The newcomer embraces him tight, lifting the boy off the floor.

Cody was laughing. "Yeah, and I couldn't have gotten back without some help from Batch eight... Well, part of them, at least."

"I see," The newcomer chuckles, placing him back to his own feet. He stands tall, keeping his eyes on Cody. "why don't you introduce me to those new friends of yours then so I can give them a proper thank you?"

Cody just grin in response. "Well, two of them, you already know,"

"Eh?" The guy blinks in confusion, finally glancing over to us, his confusion giving away to an expression of disbelief. "Nina?"

"Trey!"

Nina's trademark calm dissolves into tears and she throws herself into the stranger's arms. Aforementioned person returns the embrace tightly, laughing. I think—it's hard to tell, these surface people are so uncouth in their emotions.  

"Nina," Trey says again, pushing her away from him so he can get a better look of her till he saw where Thomas has been standing wearing a grin of extreme satisfaction. "Thomas?" If anything, the grin gets wider that the Surface dweller has to return one of his own. "Jeez, next time you decide to pay us a visit, give me a little more warning, huh? I'll see if I can organize a proper reception."

Thomas snorts, but since I've been on that receiving end often enough, I can tell he wasn't aggravated. "I'll make sure we send you a computer alert." he says dryly but his grin gives away the fact he's extremely happy.

"You also kept the bandana, after all this time."

"Don't start getting sappy," Thomas laughs. "but yeah, and I see you have, as well."

Trey moves towards him and they did this weird, sequence of movements with their hands, ending with a handshake. Before laughing out loud and giving a quick hug.

"Ah! Kytes!" Trey pulls back, turning to the others. "Bryce, Dillan, do you know if he returned yet?"

Bryce shakes his head. "As far as I know, he only sent back Max and Phoebe to report back. He needed to get a head start in preparing the soils there for his gardening. But he'll come back himself to help the evacuation procedure."

"Well, at least he'll come back."

Thomas raises a brow, "Gardening? My brother?" he questions. "he didn't even appreciate flowers back then."

"Oh boy, will you be surprised." Trey grins, and Nina goes to hug his arm.

I fume. Just when I thought I had a chance of convincing Nina and Thomas to return, this happens—

"It's okay," Trey says, now addressing everyone else who are standing with their weapons and extremely puzzled expressions to the side. "It's a long story, but I know them. This is my sister and best friend. They're not going to harm us." He turns back to us. "And who's this?"

I scowl.

"Sean Spring, piece of advice, don't let him bum you out." Thomas answers. "he doesn't want to be here, why he is—long story." 

Trey nods. "Well, you can tell me about it inside the base, okay?" he has one hand on Thomas's shoulder and the other on Nina's waist. "come on, we'll find you some place comfortable to rest, you look exhausted."

I'm left to trail after. I notice Cody being huddled over and the surface people are making a fuss of how glad they are of his safe return. I thought back to the threat Jonah gave Thomas earlier, and wonder what he must've done to get them to like him so much.

There are more surface people through the doors. I falter under curious stares. 

"Are you all right?" Cody has his hand on my arm again. This time, I don't brush it away. At least he's a familiar savage.

"People—I never got to see these many. This is too much—"

"Don't worry, they won't hurt you."

He doesn't see. I can't deal with this many people, I can't—

"Time for staring later guys, I thought we had a vegetable garden to clear, right?" Trey commands, and it does good to get rid of the crowd.

For once, I am thankful for a savage. "What's going on?" Nina asks.

"We're making preparations to evacuate—we've put off as long as we could. This base is no longer safe, not for long. But—" Trey trails off.

"Lori?" Cody's voice is suddenly alarmed. "How is he?"

Trey lets go of Nina and Thomas to grab the arm of a passing kid. "Nadine, go get Corrin. Bring him here, tell him Cody's back." Once the girl is sent off, he sighs and bent down to our guide's level, so that they're easily face to face, except Trey's head is still slightly higher. He placed a hand on Cody's shoulder. "Not good, little guy. After you left he deteriorated quickly. Corrin's not even letting Meeko visit him."

Cody stifles a tear, before grabbing on the front of the older boy's shirt. "But he's gonna be all right! I know how to cure him now, a good Doctor told me how, and he's even here on the surface now! Batch Eight, like Nina and Thoma—" 

"Whoa, whoa, an actual adult? But—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence.

"Cody?" A new voice calls out, and I looked up to see a slate-haired young man coming to view, same height as Thomas but slightly shorter. "CODY! Oh my god!" He rushes over to scoop the aforementioned child in his arms. "Thank goodness, I've been so worried!"

Cody wraps his arms around the young man's neck. "Momma!"

 _Momma?_ I raise a brow. Thomas and Nina seem to question this, too.

That can't be right. The person is clearly male, even given that his hair is longer than most. Trey placed a hand on the other guy's shoulder, and I'm more suspicious. Are males able to reproduce together up here? Is Cody their child? There is no resemblance. He actually looks more like me, since the radiation seems to have that affect on our hair, probably from years ago.

_Wait, what?_

"Uh, Core, you're kinda crying?" The scruffy haired leader took off his bandana, hence the description, before handing it over. "and there's some people around so—"

Corrin adjusts Cody in his one arm before snatching it. "Shut up, I'm so happy I can cry, damn it." He pulls a tongue out before dabbing his eyes and handing the head gear back to him. He then points a finger in front of the child's face, as if in chastise. "Cody, don't you dare do that again, you understand? I have half the mind to give you nothing but vegetables for the next few weeks."

"No, don't do that!" Cody complains. "Ah! Wait, Corrin, come on, come on!" He struggles to get down, and when he was dropped, he's pulling the slate-haired boy after him. "We got to save Lori! I know how now! Let's go, let's go!"

The young man—Corrin?—makes a startled gasp. "You do?! That's wonderf—"  he yelps as he almost crashed into something. "Hang on Code, I can run by myself! Be careful!"

"Uh, momma?" Thomas looks over to Trey. "I mean, yeah, he kinda acted like it, but—really?"

Trey chuckles a bit. "Now that's another long story." He then beckons to another passing person. "Guys, this is my Second-in-Command, Rhysell Gildean, but we usually call him—"

"Rhys."

Said Second-in-Command looked amused. "So you've heard of me, it seems."

"Yeah, Cody liked to talk a lot." Thomas snorts, "Now... Radiation affected what-whats? It's no wonder everyone settled for Rabids."

Rhys gives a chuckle. "Yes, well, forgive me, but I do prefer accuracy and precision over shortcuts," I think I'd like this guy if he wasn't a savage, like them. Though I must admit, he has a more well-kept hair, but that's only in comparison to Trey's. "but I tolerate the others' need to simplify my terms."

"Rhys, would you mind taking Tom, Nina, and Sean to my room? See that they have everything they need and are left alone, please?"

"I comprehend," The bronze-colored haired boy nods.

Trey turns back to us—or more precisely, Nina and Thomas. "I'll be back as soon as I can, I think Corrin will need help with Cody just in case—and hopefully not—the cure fails and, well, you know—"

"We understand," Nina nods, grasping her brother's hands. "but it'll be fine, Doctor Roland has done it before. Lori will be fine."

Trey smiles tightly, sighing. "That's a relief, I don't think I could handle those two's waterworks, especially at the same time." On that note, he leaves.

Rhys watches him go before turning back to us. "Well, this way then."

"What are they," Thomas raises a brow, smirking. "a married couple?"

I throw him a look of disgust. "I sincerely hope that was one of your poorly-made jokes."

"Excuse me but my jokes are never poorly-made." Thomas scowls.

Rhys interjects himself, "That, they are not. But being the eldest of Genesis Batch, they do tend to get parental, especially towards Cody." he chuckles, "Actually, most of us are, but not as much as Corrin and Trey. I'm not sure how much you know, but he was just a baby when Corrin took him in, and with Trey taking the lead back then, even as an infant, Cody seemed to detect leadership—that, or Trey's just really warm to sleep on, since he does get Cody to sleep faster in his arms than Corrin can."

Thomas turns to Rhys, "Huh, and here I thought Trey's the one that needed to be looked after."

"How much longer must we keep walking," I complain.  "I sincerely hope it's not too far off."

Rhys shakes his head. "You don't have far to go—Trey prefers to be close to the center so he's always easy to find."

I'm not expecting much from the scruffy haired leader, but I'm pleasantly surprised. Trey's room is spacious, more so like that of Head Councilor Levin's unit, and kept in relative order.

"Make yourself comfortable," Rhys offers. "I'm sure Trey wouldn't mind if one of you takes his bed, and I'll have more mattresses brought in by Lee."

Thomas turns to Nina, "Would you like the bed?"

"I think Sean should get it," Nina replies, "he looks more tired than I am."

I'm not going to argue with that. Although not my machine, the bed is the most comfortable thing I've encountered in my entire time up here. It was almost worth being bossed around by Thomas—of course, I insist that the sheets be removed before I use it. Thomas rolls his eyes, already making himself comfortable on the mattresses like Nina is, brought in by a teenager, probably Lee. He leaves after being acknowledged by Rhys.

"There's no need for worry, Sean. The hotel itself has never been infected badly by the radiation, and even if it had, your suit appears well able to protect you from it. I'm sure you have blankets of your own or shall I bring you some?"

I shake my head, slightly impressed. "No that's fine." Is it just me or did he sound half-way intelligent?

He may have come from an upstanding family before being orphaned and sent up here. Yet he doesn't seem to mind. I wonder if my machine has files on him.  _Rhysell_ _Gildean_ _._ If ever I do return, I'll check to satisfy curiosity.

 _Or you could just ask him,_  The irrational voice at the back of my head replies. It comes to me frequently since I left my machine. Like those dreams do, about three blurry silhouettes and some hostile creatures. I can never make out their faces, I can only hear voices.

"Thanks for your help," Nina says drowsily, she's already half-asleep and who could blame her.

Rhys nods. "No problem. Should you need anything, I'll be looking in on you from time to time."

I shut my eyes, take a breath, and it didn't take long for me to lose consciousness.

**—O—**

Next time I open my eyes, it's to darkness. I would be content to return to my slumber, but something moved nearby that catches my attention.

"—all asleep. I hope you don't mind that I gave them your bed." It sounded like Rhys.

Trey's voice follows. "It's fine Rhys, thanks for taking care of them."

"It was my pleasure, good night." I hear footsteps and the sound of it fading.

"Come on Cody, we can share the sofa. It's big enough."

I see the dark silhouette of the taller boy putting a hand over the smaller one. "Are you sure, Trey? I don't want to put you out—"

"You've taken such good care of my sister and friend in your own expense, don't you ever think you're putting me out." Trey speaks softly. "I'll be more peaceful, knowing you're back, safe and sound beside me. How are you feeling?"

"I'm scared Trey, I've never seen Lori so sick—we did everything the Doctor said, but is it enough?"

"Don't give up, kiddo. Corrin's not going to let him die, and you saw Lori. Seeing you brought his spirits back."

"I guess... Thanks, Trey."

"No problem, now go to sleep okay? I've got a feeling we'll all need it tomorrow."

That's a reassuring note to fall asleep on. I shut my eyes, trying to fall back asleep.

 _Tomorrow..._ I could finally start preparations to escape. Somewhere around here had to be tools capable of altering the tracking device.

I was going home.


	23. Part 01.1 CODY

**[ARC TWO: RETREAT]**

**PART 01**

**::CODY::**

I can't sleep. So I stay up and stare at Sean. Now that my mind can relax a bit since I don't have to listen for mutants, I can think. I swear Sean seems familiar. Aside from looking at Sean, I'm thinking of Lori. The cure has gotta work. It's a cure right?

I'm so worried. But somehow, looking at Sean and not having him glare at me is comforting.

"You're staring at me."

I blink. He was awake? "Um... Sorry."

"Stop it."

A bit of ray of light beams from the boarded up windows so I see cold eyes stare back at me.

"Stop what?" I blink a few more times, a little confused.

Sean scowls. "Staring."

"Oh," I turn away.

Trey stirs a bit, stretches and puts an arm over my lap. I have to stay still. Trey is the number one person always lacking sleep. No one likes disturbing him when he gets on a bed, unless absolutely necessary or urgent.

"You're doing it again."

"Sorry," I say again, quietly. "I just... I like your eyes, they remind me of something I can't remember, except it's suppose to be comforting, even when you look at me coldly. It's a nice shade and all. I don't mean to stare, it just happens..."

"That's foolishness." Sean says flatly. "you either decide to look at something or you don't. What you decide, your brain follows. And don't think I'm flattered by your assessment of my eyes. I'm a tool—I'm designed to be useful, not appealing to the eye. If you can't stop staring, I'd prefer you leave the room. I can't rest when I'm being looked at."

So much for kind words. Maybe if I give him gifts. But I have no idea what we have that he might like. I sighed and went back to sleep. When I woke up again, Trey was gone. When I went down for breakfast, I saw Trey and Rhys standing near a window, and from the looks on their faces, they're talking about something important and serious. I go to find someone else for food but they see me and called me over with brief, tense smiles.

"How are Thomas and Nina doing?" Trey asks me.

I shrug. "Sleeping, they're not used to waking up early." he says. "what's going on with the trees?" I've already been given a summary of what's going on, but if there's anything new—

"Nothing," Trey glares out at the window. "everything's quiet, everything's still. They just sit there... waiting. I don't like it—they've got to be up to something." he grips the windowsill, turning away from me completely. "The question is—what?"

"An attack?"

Rhys places a hand to his chin. "That seems probable." he answers. "our current problem lies in our inability to discover where and how they plan on attacking. The element of surprise could throw us off, and they seem at least marginally intelligent."

"Huh?" I can't think of any better response for that, so I don't try. No one can really answer Rhys before he answers himself. "Is Lori awake yet?"

Trey turns to me again. "I think so. It'd help if you stayed with him and Meeko. If we get caught in a surprise attack, we're going to need Corrin in other places, if your side gets attack, you and Meeko can protect Lori though." He says. "Can you handle that?"

"I'm sure he could," Rhys smiles dryly. "the concern is whether you can handle Corrin throwing a fit if he found out you assigned Cody to the task with that in mind."

Trey looks a little pale, but he shakes his head. "Cody's growing up, man. Corrin can't keep babying him forever. But—uh—as Leon may put it, mum's the word, okay?"

"Noted." Rhys chuckles.

I was a little confused. "So, uh, am I still allowed to stay with Lori?"

"If you don't mind, yeah. Please?"

I beam. "Sure thing, Trey! I'd be happy to!" I dashed off towards the medical room. Lori is awake when I get there, so Corrin lets me in. "Hi!" I greet them all, and Lori's sitting up, I feel my spirits rise. There's color in his cheeks, and he looks a lot better than he did the night before. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine." Lori gives me a weak smile.

Meeko beams. "He says it hardly hurts. I'm sure he'll be back on his feet in an hour or so!" He's even more ecstatic than I am.

"No he won't, not yet." Corrin says sternly, setting a ratty pillow and making Lori lean back to rest his head. "He'll rest for today and then we'll see how it's healing tomorrow."

Meeko makes a face. "Oh fine!"

"Meeko, calm down. Just be glad it's not you." Lori chuckles.

Corrin shudders. "Ugh, just imagining getting you to stay still— I rather babysit a thousand of Jacks" he shakes his head, and Meeko glares at him. "Cody, have you eaten your breakfa—" Before he could complete his question, my stomach grumbles in answer. "I'll take that as a no."

"Here Code," Lori smiles fondly at me, pushing over his plat from his tray to my direction. It had one piece of mango. "I already ate two. Meeko had three. You can have the last."

I smile, "Thanks Lori!" I eat cheerfully.

"I'm really glad you're safe, Cody." Lori ruffles my hair, and I lean into him for more contact. "you really scared me."

Corrin nods. "You scared all of us."

"I'm really sorry, but I heard Trey and Rhys arguing about it and I know if he wouldn't let him go, then he wouldn't allow me all the more since I'm younger and less reliable, since I'm just a kid." I frown. "But I really wanted to save Lori..."

Corrin widens his eyes. "Cody, you are plenty reliable, the most reliable ten year old there is here." he assures me. "we don't even have to force you to take a bath or sleep or eat your vegetables."

"Emphasize on force." Meeko quips.

"You really think so?" I ask hopefully. "but—you were the one who didn't like me to start training, even when most ten year olds start their training immediately."

Corrin looks a little embarrassed. "Yeah, well, you know—I'm more protective of you, I mean, I did raise you." he shrugs. "I guess I didn't want to feel like you were growing up too fast and wouldn't need me as much."

"What are you, his mother?" Meeko laughs.

Corrin narrows his eyes. "Meeko, your bones are currently intact, unless you keep joking like that, they're broken."

"Ack," Meeko chokes on his laugh, so Lori's the one laughing this time.

I jump up and went over to Corrin, hugging him. "I'll always need you, Corrin. Even when I'm as old as Trey and you." I promised. "I mean, Trey's already older, but he still likes coming over to you even when no one's injured."

For some reason, Lori snorts and laughs even louder that even Meeko gives him a strange look.

"Thanks Cody," Corrin ruffles my hair. "Oh, if you're done eating, there's this thing Rhys made last night to make it easier to cut off the circulation when we want to heal something with radiation. I think he left it in his workroom, so could you please get it for me?"

I nod. "Sure!"

I bound out of the door and hurry down the stairs, narrowly avoiding collision with other people a number of times. Rhys's back upstairs with Trey, I know for sure, but someone's in the room. I become cautious, slowly peeking through the door. 

It's Sean.

I relaxed, then immediately wonder why he's in the workroom. Well, the direct approach is usually best.

"Hey Sean!" I say cheerfully, walking right into the room. 

He jumps in surprise, and turns to face me with a familiar cold glare. 

I sigh, _what else is new?_

"What are you doing in here?" Sean demands.

I move forward, "Getting something for Corrin. So what are you working on?" I look at whatever he's tinkering with.

"That is none of your business." Sean replies icily, pulling it off the table and out of my sight.

He's not quick enough, because I recognize it right away. We've only seen about a million and one of them in some animals. I looked up at him, understanding right away.

"A tracker?" He doesn't answer, but continues to glare at me. I can tell he's afraid—not that I'll get mad or anything, because I'm not that intimidating—but that I'll tell someone and he'll be forced to give it up. "So they can find you and take you back, right?"

Sean just keeps glaring. I swallowed and meet his angry gaze, feeling torn. I don't want him to go, and I know Thomas and Nina would be upset if they find out I knew and didn't tell anyone. But if I don't tell, maybe he'll like me more. Maybe he'll start to see me as a friend—

"Are you going to stand there and stare at me all day?"

I shake my head quickly. "I gotta get back to Lori, um, but—I mean, I didn't see anything, okay? I don't know you're down here, either." I see what I had to get, grab it and hurry out.

When I get back, Corrin's not there. So I put the thingy on the table. I start some small talk with Lori and Meeko. Actually, we're pretty involved in a conversation about my trip to the Underground and whether the trees outside will make decent building materials when Trey comes in, breathing heavily.

"They're attacking the East side!" He tells us, "we're getting everyone to run up here, but people are getting hurt already, and we're going to need—Where's CORRIN?!"

On cue, he comes running in. "Present!" Corrin rushes in quickly, grabbing the device I got for him and then back out.

"You three stay here," Trey tells us, but it's too late because I realize what he said.

They're attacking from the East side... Sean's in Rhys's workroom, and it's on the East side. He'll be in trouble and no one knows he's down there, except me. Without thinking, I dodged passed Trey and run for the stairs.

"Cody!?"

I don't turn around. The building seems to be trembling, and I can hear crashes and shouts as people run for safety. I ignore it all and run down the hallway, burst through Rhys's workroom door and grabbed Sean around the waist before he has the chance to get mad.

"What do you think you're—" His outraged demand goes unfinished because whole masses of roots and vines crashes through the wall and I throw us both to the ground so we don't get grabbed or crushed by the bad green monster trees. "What's happening?!" Sean cries, voice sounding very frightened.

His fist is still clenched tight around the tracking device.

"The trees are attacking," I say, trying very hard to make sure that he stays on the ground, and I'm above him so the trees can't get to him. I reach for my knife—which is still with Thomas.

This is not good.

I beat at the vines with my legs, trying to stay hovered over Sean so he doesn't get hurt. But I don't know how long I can keep that up. There's too many. They grab my legs and my arms and waist and I try to jerk free without getting off Sean.

"Trey! Heeelp!"

"Hold on, just a second! I'm coming!" His voice sounds faint but it feels me with relief. "Stay down! I'll get you out of there!" I press against Sean, covering him as much as I can so he doesn't get burned.

Then fire explodes through the room and the vines are gone. I stumble to my feet and pull Sean out of there. Trey does the same thing to Sean when we got out, scooping me up and charging out of there and towards the stairs Finally, he drops me when we were far enough from danger.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Trey snaps, furious. "you could've been killed Cody! Or eaten alive! We just got you back, don't think it's okay for us to almost lose you again!"

I shudder, even though I know he's only angry because he cares. I don't like having Trey yelling at me.

"Sean was down there! I had to go save him, he doesn't know how to protect himself!"

Trey's angry eyes move to Sean, "What were you doing in Rhys's workroom?"

"It's my fault Trey!" I answer quickly before Sean can say anything. "I told him he could go there. He wanted to see Rhys's tools. I didn't think it was a big deal."

Trey huffs, dragging his hand down his face. "All right, all right. Fine, I forgive you. But don't do that again, or no meat for a month, Cody."

"No, not that!" I whine. "Meeko said we'll be able to make bacon soon again!"

Trey smirks. "Then you know what to do if you don't want me to eat your share." He ruffles my hair before leaving.

"I never met anyone as stupid as you."

I see Sean shaking his head at me. "Huh?"

"I appreciate being rescued but if you expect anything in return for your silence, you'll find yourself sorely disappointed. I'd rather not have your help and I'll thank you to leave me alone."

With that, he turns and walk away, leaving me gaping after him.

"What'd I do wrong this time?"


	24. Part 01.2 TREY

**::TREY::**

I watch with satisfaction the thrashing trees beneath us. "Nice work, Rhys. That's stopped them."

"Unfortunately, only temporarily," Rhys says, ever pragmatic. "and that was the last of the spray. I hope we've seen the last of injuries. I can hear winces from up there. Jenny's power would go handy, if only we didn't send her ahead to the next base."

I frown. We're running out of weapons.

"But they don't know that."

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Jonah materializes from my shadow.

Rhys only widens his eyes a fraction before relaxing. I check my watch immediately, breathing deeply to get my bars back to stable level.

"For fuck's sake, Jonah," I curse, trying not to glare. "can you not do that?"

Jonah bows his head in apology. "I'm sorry, but I can only appear and reappear from shadows. From which shade I come through, however, is something I can't choose." He said.

"Yeah, yeah, you can only get the bearing of the locations." I sigh. "I know, but please, if you do come out of a shadow, try to make a signal first? Like, a tap, or whatever. I mean, I don't want to burn you."

Jonah nods once more. "Duly noted, I'll be sure to work on it, sir."

"And don't call me sir, I already told you. You and Leon are even older than me." I complain, shaking my head in exasperation. I tried passing my Head Leader position after the two of them got accustomed in being part of our group, and I'm still debating who protested strongly, them or Corrin.

Rhys clears his throat to get our attention. "Jonah, anything to report?"

"Yes," Jonah nods, "Kytes is on his way back. Since he'll be traveling here on foot, he'll be able to tell us which is the best route to take."

Rhys sighs. "Just as well, I don't think they'll try anything like that for another couple of hours at least, but by that time, we should be ready to move. Jonah, go get some rest. You'll need it."

"Understood. Thank you." Jonah left.

Rhys looks over to me, "Evacuation can no longer be postponed, I fear."

"Lori's condition is still—"

Rhys shakes his head, "No Trey, we can't risk more casualties, then Lori wouldn't be our only problem." He said. "We can't take our chances."

"I know," I give in. I don't like this—but there's only one thing we can do. "Put the word out that we'll be leaving in a few hours. Everyone is to take only what they need. I also want a check done that everyone, who's not yet in the Southwest base , is present and preferably alive. Ask Lexie to help you there, and I want a watch posted over those trees."

Rhys nods. "Trey, how are we going to get out of here? The base is surrounded."

"Leave that to me. Just get everyone ready to go."

Rhys nods one more time and takes the main corridor, calling out some names.

I take the side door to the flight of stairs that leads to my room, quickening my pace. I can hardly believe it's true. Nina, my baby sister, here after so many years. And my best friend, Thomas. They're sitting together on a mattress, watching and being watched by the crowd of children sent here at the first sign of danger.

"Trey!" Nina spots me first, her face lighting up.

Thomas's grin isn't far behind. "Here you are. What, been too busy playing leader to visit?"

"I meant to be here when you woke up," I say, sitting beside them on the mattress. "sorry about that."

My sister frowns, "Something's wrong." she concludes.

I'd forgotten how good she was at reading people—how much more have I forgotten?

"Yes. Cody told you about our plant situation?" They nod, looking worried. "There was an attack this morning, we put a stop to it, but they've breached our East walls. I think we have a respite of a few hours before they try anything again."

"Are we gonna evacuate now?" One of the children watching pipes up.

I nod. "In a couple of hours, Jack." I say. "Remember to travel in your batches. Listen to your batch leader, if they've proceeded to the next base, listen for the orders of the Second-in-Comm—"

"YES!" The kids all chants.

Jack rolls his eyes. "We have had to evacuate before, Trey."

"Heh, right." I give Thomas and Nina a sideway smile. "Kids~"

And I finally notice Corrin being there, as well. "Doesn't seem so long ago you were that cheeky."

"Oh, like you weren't," I grin at him, "Let me introduce you officially, Thomas, Nina, this is our main healer Corrin. Core, meet my sister Nina and Thomas."

Corrin nods at them, smiling my favorite smile of his. "It's nice to meet you,"

"Likewise," Thomas nods "feel like I already know you, though, with the way Cody would go on about you and Trey. He sure likes you two a lot."

A kid pipes up. "That's because they're his momma and papa!"

"What the, Kelly, no we're not!" Corrin protests, and I'm sure I'm red in the face just as much as he is. "don't make up stories!"

Kelly pouts. "But Trey makes up stories a lot, and 'sides, Cody calls you momma anyway and Trey likes you since you're always together even when nothing important is going on." she points fingers at us, as if in accusation. "so you're, like, his adoptive parents!"

"Of course I like him, we're friends!" I manage out.  _Jeez, this is getting awkward fast._ It's bad enough fantasizing over the impossible, now hearing it out loud is doing something to my libido.

Corrin nod, making a face I can't describe. "Besides, Trey spends more time with Rhys, anyway."

"Aw, that's only 'cause they're working partners, like daddy with the people he does his job with back then." David waves a dismissive hand. "Corrin is like mom, the one dad comes home to after work."

This is  _reaaaaaally_ getting awkward, and I better change topic before I accidentally confess in front of my sister and best friend. Even now, they were giving me speculative looks.

"Kids!" Lexie suddenly bursts in the room, "Ah, bro, great, you're here too. Some people were asking to be healed, so you better go tend to them. Kids, come on, let's get your things ready for leaving. Those of you who already have their stuff with them can stay, though."

Thankfully, the pesky, noisy ones we're the ones who had to leave. I sigh as they left, along with Corrin. While I actually do like hanging around him, I have no clue what to say after those kids got intrusive.

"So~" Thomas drawls, teasingly but not mockingly. "you and Corrin, huh?"

I think I've also forgotten that Thomas can be observant, too... as much as he can be obnoxious, too, anyway. "No, we're not."

"But you wish it, don't you?" The blond insists. Since I'm a bad liar, I don't even try it, especially not with Thomas. "Never would have guessed you'd turn into a pansy, but hey, whatever right? More girls for me." He pats my back, smiling in a way to let me know he didn't mean it as an insult.

I smile, a little relieved, that among few things, homosexuality is one of those that Thomas doesn't get critical about.

"I can't believe this—" I swallow thickly as Nina spoke and at her words. What if she wasn't as accepting? I can't bare the thought of being reunited to her but having her hate me for not being capable of giving her nieces and nephews—"Brother, it's really you." She's holding my hand to her heart.

Okay, total false alarm. "So~ I take it you don't mind never being able to become an Aunt?"

"Silly, I'll never hate you for who you are and whom you like." Nina nudges me. "Besides, I technically got Cody, right?"

I roll my eyes but decide not to comment on that dig. "I still can't believe the both of you are here, it seems like a dream." I reach out to touch her hair but the clear plastic is in the way. I'm gonna have to ask what that's about.

"It's really true, Trey. We're here, I've been dreaming for this for ages." Nina smiles up at me brilliantly.

I sure hope Thomas has done his part keeping suitors away all these years because, damn, even I have to admit she's grown into one, beautiful girl.

"A pretty strange choice of dream, if you asked me."

Thomas shoots an annoyed look at Sean. I forgot he was even present. "Can't you keep your positive thoughts to yourself?"

"The drug Doctor Roland gave is wearing off, Thomas. You can't order me around anymore."

"Forget him." Nina says, gently calling our attention back. "If those things are going to attack soon, we don't have much time together—"

Still so wise? I wonder if I can still tease a grin out of her. "Hey, whatever happened to my younger sister? The one that was a real ditz, always chattering?" It works and she laughs.

"Trey—" She threatens playfully. "I can tell Corrin you know." Okay, no longer playful.

Thomas interrupts our potential sibling banter. "What happened to my friend?" he mimicks. "The careless, laughing soccer playing idiot who can't afford to be responsible unless it directly involved Nina?"

"Soccer—wow, that's something I haven't done in ages." I haven't had much time to dwell in the past.

Thomas chuckles. "Dude, you know, I kept wondering what had happened to you and Kytes, wishing I could see you both again, wondering what you'd be like if I did. I was afraid the surface changed you. You won't believe the horror stories scientists underground came up with, of the effects the surface had on humans."

"Eh?" I'm suddenly alarmed. "W—what did they say?"

Thomas shrugs. "Stuff to keep us underground. They told us the surface was unstable. That it caused death instantly. Then there's those rumors about abnormalities." He said flippantly. "And here you are, perfectly normal, not a single change except that soccer is no longer what you do twenty-four-seven and you're into a guy now."

"Ehe yeah, uh, what kind of abnormalities are we talking about here?"

"Doesn't matter—just that you couldn't be human anymore."

I'm confused. Don't they know? Cody must have used his powers—he must have told them—I scanned the room.

There.

// _Code, how much do Nina, Thomas, and Sean know about our powers?_ //

Cody was slightly shock at my sudden intrusion to his mind, but he had seemed previously aggrieved. I'd be concerned if I wasn't worried about something else now.

// _They don't. I lost my concentration a bit but I was real careful after that... They weren't there yet though, when I accidentally used it._ //

"Trey," Nina calls my attention back. "you've gone all distant on us—that's not like you." she said.

My throat tightens. What will they think of me when they know? Thomas... his brother—would he get mad that I couldn't protect Kytes from the changes? "Maybe," I swallowed thickly. "maybe we've been changed more than you think."

"Uh—huh, yeah, let's see." Thomas starts. "Hmm, no horns, no tails, no fur covering your entire body, you don't breathe fire—" I carefully didn't react. "Trey, you're still you. If you changed, it's for the better. When I remember my blockhead Ninja partner and compare him to who you are now—responsible, careful, BUSY," he nudges me. "everything a leader should be."

Nina agrees. "I agree, everyone seems to trust you a lot."

"Heh, thanks," I finally force myself to smile. "well, you know, they say a leader's work is never done—I have to go do stuff." I pause as I stood. The blue-haired Sean is curled up against a wall, looking fixedly at nothing. "Sean?"

His gaze flicks at my direction. "What?"

I ignore the fact that his tone indicates he is only barely deigning to speak to me and address him as I would any of our group. "Unless we tell you otherwise, stay put, okay? I won't have you endangering any other of our group—especially not Cody again. Up here, life's too precious to waste."

Something flickers in his eyes, but I don't have time to investigate. What I told Nina and Thomas wasn't completely an excuse.

**—O—**

"You sure Trey? It's pretty risky."

"Do you see any other option?" I huff, not liking it any more than he does, "Knives are only good once they've got you down. And I don't want to see anyone in that position. Arrows aren't good against plants. Even if they were, they're better off to save for hunting."

"I suppose," Rhys nods. "I suppose it'll have to do."

I sheath my Cutlass. "Great, get everyone to start putting a bonfire together. And find scarves for people." I add as an afterthought. "The smoke is bad when we inhale too much."

"And the trees themselves aren't a picnic either."

"Kyi?" The blond laughs as I do a double take. "When did you get back?"

Kytes shrugs. "Just now, actually. I got to tell you, it was close—those trees are nasty." he grunted. "it'd be easier if I got to control them, but that'd need more power and even then I'd end up frying my batteries."

"Where's the rest of your team?" I ask. "Joe? Mario?"

"At the base, I figured things would be getting bad here so I thought they'd be better off getting things ready for us."

"Good."

"Where did you come through?" Rhys ask. "Did you notice anywhere that was not crowded?"

Kytes pause to think. "Well, the way I came wasn't so bad. Until they realized I was there. Most of them seem to be moving towards the West Side, like there's something there they want."

"What's there that they could want?" I wonder.

Rhys snaps his fingers. "Lori!"

"No way."

"It makes sense," Rhys's eyes got a familiar glazed look. "I hypothesize—"

I stop him right there. "Hypothesize later!" I tell him firmly. "we have a bonfire to organize right?"

"Is there anything you want me to do?" Kytes ask.

I smile. "Go to my room. Make sure that the kids aren't giving Lexie a hard time."

"Okay."

Rhys nudges me as the younger boy leaves. "Isn't that a bit mean? Sending him to go and see the brother he hasn't seen for years without even a little word of warning?"

"Nah," I shrug. "It's more dramatic this way."

"I've never seen this side of you." Rhys laugh. "Trey, the Drama queen."

"You."

We push each other around a bit, and then Corrin calls me. "Lori is getting better. As long as he doesn't try and walk for himself we should be able to get him to the other base fine." He says. "Meeko is also asking for you, Rhys. Something about needing to keep an eye on you, too."

Rhys makes a look. "Yeah, like I'm the one who requires that."

"Well, you did worry him." I point out.

Rhys sighed. "Fine, if it helps him calm down." he leaves us.

"I must go too." Corrin says, looking a little embarrassed still, probably from earlier, since he wasn't looking at me like he usually does.

I don't blame him.

"Okay Core, be careful. I—you know..."

He manages a smile, and he's looking at me again. "I will, you do the same."

I rub at the back of my head. "And, uh, about what the kids said—"

"Yeah, uh, it was awkward but—" Corrin clears his throat. "—But it's not like it's, you know, disgusting or anything, er, right?"

I felt something stir in my heart. "Uh, yeah, no, no. I mean, it's with you so," He didn't think it was disgusting, so maybe... Well, just maybe, right? "Y—yeah, not disgusting, yeah, of course not."

"Yeah, of course not." Corrin echoes absently, having a different expression, his smile, although the same one he usually has on, seemed a bit different. I can't tell why, though. "see you later."

I left as he did, going over to another room where some other people are waiting. I outline what we're going to do clearly, so that even the littlest children can understand. It's pretty basic. Rhys and I are going through, cutting a path for the others to follow us as quickly as they can. Those at the back will have torches and fire the trees behind them. It's pretty risky. An awful lot of things could go wrong—but even if the worst happens, and the wind changes, trapping us with fire, I think I'd have strength to control that—

Only there'll be no hiding from Thomas and Nina how much I've changed.


	25. Part 01.3 THOMAS

**::THOMAS::**

Trey's been acting weird. Has he always been busy up here? Must be. On the surface though, I guess that makes sense. Things are always serious. And there's always some kind of danger lurking about.

It's frightening, but at the same time, it's a thrill. It makes me feel more alive than I have since we were moved below the ground in the first place. And that's hardly a time I can remember very well. So this all seems new. I ignore the people staring at me and watch Nina playing with the children with this other girl. I think her name was Lexie? She's the sister of Trey's man crush.

I have to admit, while I didn't lie about not being against it, it's certainly something I didn't expect. But I guess that means I can go after Lindsay without worrying about the bro-code.

 _Wait, what?_ I shake my head. Now wasn't the time for those thoughts.

Everyone's fascinated with Nina, the kids are reaching out to touch the plastic suit, tugging her arms. I sit behind her, and for some reason, none of them approached me. Though I see a few staring with wide eyes. It's unnerving. Sean, of course, is having none of it, sulking over by the wall. Glaring at anyone who comes near and does so much as stare for five seconds. What did he do, I have to wonder, that made Trey single him out earlier.

 _Trying to escape?_  I smile slightly at the thought, _Sure, first step: Escape. Second step: Come running back for safety_.

"Lexie!" The door behind us bursts suddenly. "Trey told me to come here and—oh..."

When I look up, my gaze is met by a pair of very familiar blue eyes— _Oh my god..._ "Kytes?" 

He's still got one hand on the doorway, and the look on his face is priceless.

"T-Tommy? Brother?" He stammers, in a little squeak of a voice, which I can hardly place as the one that came from my shrimpy little brother. "How... but.. you... what?"

 _He's tall now!_ I marveled at the realization, and he has a muscle tone, almost like Trey's. 

I stand up, speechless, and can't help being pleased to realize that I'm still taller than he is, if only by a few inches now. His hair is still blond, raggedly cut, like Cody's and Trey's. His skin's lighter than that of the other two, but it's tan, darker than mine or Nina's. And on the top of his head is Uncle's old fisherman bucket's hat that I gave him before I let Trey and the guards take him from me—

"Kytes," I say again, finding it hard to keep emotion from my voice. I hadn't even realized, until now, exactly how much I missed him. Taking the few steps forward that close the distance between us, I grab him in a fierce hug. "Kytes!"

My brother... My baby brother... No longer a baby, after all this time. And I'm sure he's gotten more reliable, I bet he no longer needs me to check under his bed for monsters. I bet he could fight that monster. I embraced him tighter. A lifetime would never be enough to make up for our lost time.

But strike me down with Lightning if I don't try.

"Tommy!" Kytes lets out a strangled, half-choking sob and clutches me back so tightly that I find it hard to breathe. "I thought you—I... I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Well, you thought wrong," I give him a half grin, teasingly pulling the front part of the hat down and over his eyes. "we're here to stay. At least, that's the plan."

"You..." Kytes grunts, fixing his hat. "Wait, we?" He repeats.

Then, his gaze travels past me. I noticed Nina had stood up when I greeted Kytes, and is watching us silently, the expression on her face a mixture of anticipation, anxiety, and a number of things I can't identify.

"Nina," Kytes says softly, and the tone of his voice is very different from the tone he greeted me with, or even the tone I greeted him with.

"Kytes," Nina replies the same way.

They stay where they are for the moment, gazing into each other like star-crossed lovers. I rolled my eyes discreetly at the potential for high drama.  _Jeez, no._

Then Nina suddenly laughs out loud and runs across the room to grab my brother in a hug that outdoes even the one I gave him. Then again, I'm related so one would hope it wouldn't be the same. Kytes is caught off guard momentarily, before wrapping his arms around her as they swing around in place, laughing hard.

"I've missed you so much!" She tells him, half-laughing, half-crying. "I never even got to thank you for the way you—"

"Don't," Kytes's eyes look a little watery, too. "I like it up here, anyway. It's not like I'm sorry I did it. Besides, seeing you here like this is worth it and more."

"Oh yes!"

I half expect them to kiss, even through the plastic suit, but they pull away instead, and I look around at the rest of us.

" _Kawaii_ _~_ _Totemo_ _kawaī_ _!!_ " One of the girls beside Lexie gushed, even though I had no idea what she said, till she translated it herself in English, at least I think it's a translation. "Very cute!"

Lexie chuckles. "Yeah, too adorable for words." 

Kytes and Nina blushes.

"What a waste of precious time and energy," Sean mutters, not at all impressed with what just happened.

I scoff. "At least it's making us happy," I retort, my good mood not even spoiled a bit by his bratty act. "I don't think I've even once seen you smile. Do you even know how?"

His eyes flashes with indignation. "Of course I do! I know how every part of the human body works! How dare you insult my intelligence like that!"

"I wasn't insulting your intelligence," I say dryly. "I was insulting your lack of humanity. Have you ever actually enjoyed something or just smiled because you were happy?"

"What do I have to be happy about?" Sean ask coldly. "—I'm forced to watch you people and your pointless, unprovoked display of—"

I laugh. "Unprovoked?" I shake my head. "you don't know anything about the situation," I glanced back at my brother and Nina but they look content to let me handle this. "you know Nina was slated to go to the surface seven years ago. Kytes and I had an Uncle. He wasn't even a  consideration for release. But do you know what happened? Do you?"

Sean stares at me. For once, he actually seems to be listening. I take that as an open invitation.

"Nina was sick," I go on, staring him down. "not just a cold—though that probably would've been just as bad up here. She would have died, no question. Kytes knew that and he volunteered to be sent up here. Instead of her, they cared for each other that much. They haven't seen each other since then—and that was years ago. This is the first time they've spoken to each other in all that time. And they have every damn right to be as emotional as they are."

Sean flinches slightly. But I'm not done yet. I'm on a roll, in fact.

"You sit there like you're so high above everyone else, passing judgment on people who have been through a hundred more times more than you're enduring right now, and you think you have the right to complain?" I scoffed. "Grow up! Do you think they had a choice of whether or not to come up here? No, so stop acting like a spoiled child and start concentrating on trying to make yourself happy!"

"Happiness is a waste of time," he says sulkily.

But it lacks much of the conviction he puts into it before. His tone is slipping, too. The cold has shifted to a tone much like that of a pouting child who's lost his favorite toy. It's a start, I guess.

"Everything's a waste of time for you," I roll my eyes and looked over to Kytes, who is giving Sean a curious glance. "That's Sean Spring. Sean, this is Kytes, not that you'd care though."

Kytes moves forward and holds his hand out. "Nice to meet yo—"

Nina stops him. "Sean doesn't like being touched." She explains.

Sean adds, "Not by savages who lives up here." 

I'd cheerfully wring his neck if we weren't trying to preserve his life. _He did not just call my brother a savage._

At that point, Sean is saved from the possibility of being punched in the face by Trey and a large group of other kids, coming into the room. When the room is filled just enough so we don't all suffocate, the rest stay outside, with the doors left opened. They give Nina, Sean and myself a couple of interested looks, but since everyone's pretty much seen us already, it doesn't last long. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Cody going over to sit near Sean. He looks up at the still-sulking boy who ignores him, and smiles. I shake my head, looking away. I don't know how he manages to be nice to Sean when the guy's such a pain in the neck—scratch that. A pain in everything. But it's kinda amazing, too. Like how Kytes can put up with my cynic remarks and pessimistic attitude. I can be a real emotional handful if I wanted to be.

"Okay people," Trey says loudly, clapping his hands to get our attention. He already had most of it though. Everyone shuts up, even that kid from earlier who made fun of him and Corrin. "We're going to outline the plan for you. I want everyone to listen close and do what you're told, not a single question. We don't want any casualties."

I'm amazed. He's really  got this leader thing under wraps. I used to have to lead him out of trouble. But now... wow. He could get these kids to do what he says, no grumbling, or question about it. I concentrate on what he's saying as he outlines the plan that is supposed to get us all out and past those monsters, er, or monster trees—so to speak. It made me wonder whether Trey planned it. It seems pretty risky.

"Trey! Is that safe?"

"Sure it is, Joseph."

"Did Rhys plan it?"

"Hazel," Trey huffs indignantly. "it doesn't always need to be Rhys's plan for it to be a good one. I planned it." They looked skeptical. "Who wants no meat for meal times?"

"Wow! Good plan!"

"You guys," Trey sighs. "don't worry, it has Rhys's approval."

The kids made a collective release of breath in relief. I snicker at the robotic unison earlier. Maybe some things don't change after all.

"Anyway, moving on—"

I wait until after the meeting's over before going over to talk to him. He seems upset... Was it something I said? I remember the way his expression and mood changed, when I spoke to him before he left. Close to tears almost, and that's totally out of character.

"Trey?" I call, getting his attention.

He looked tense. "Hey, dude, what is it?" He plays innocent. "What?"

"I upset you. Like I did when I asked about your parents, not knowing about them dying. Come on Trey, I've known you growing up." I hold his shoulder, he's warmer than usual and wonder if he has a fever. But he seemed fine during the meeting. "I still know when you're upset."

Trey sighs, "Yeah, maybe," Absently, he raises his hand to the bandana on his head. "but you don't know me as well, now, Tom."

"Hmm, did Corrin dump your sorry ass?" I try for a grin.

Trey gives me this look, "Oh now don't start using that against me," He smiles dryly then it died down immediately.

Okay, true, something's had to have changed but we can't change completely. There's no abnormal features in him like horns, fur, or a tail. He leaves me to go help his Second-in-Command. I don't follow. Honestly, he doesn't need someone tagging along if that someone has no help or experience to offer. It made me almost envious, just a bit. Those two both have experience and they know what to do, they probably know how to work together well.

I can't help the feeling of being replaced.

**—O—**

So the first part of the plan goes well. I don't see what the others are doing up front, but it's obviously working. I'm in the middle of the group with the littler kids and the people taking care of them. Kytes in nearby, hovering over Nina protectively, and Cody is somewhere behind, probably trying to do the same for Sean.

"Hey, Sunny-side, what's up?"

I turn to my left and see a boy with red hair and another boy who looked to be his twin on his back. They look vaguely familiar—then it clicks, and I frown, "Sunny-side? Really, Meeko?"

"Hey, he remembers!" Meeko laughs. "Sorry you guys had to come in the worst possible time. Most of the other groups come when we just got out of danger and settled in a base. But at least it's exciting, right?"

Lori shakes his head. "Only you'd think a life or death situation would be exciting," Then he smiles at me. "All the same, Welcome to Surface R. Hope you'll find a way to like it as much as we have."

"Uh, yeah. Me, too." I smile a bit. I forgot how different in personalities they were. "and lay off the nicknames, red ranger, you're not good at it."

Meeko pulls out a tongue, "Pfft, you first, Hot shot."

Before I can counter that, there's a shout for us to get moving and we do it right away.

"Later!" Meeko adjusts Lori on his back and rushes forward, despite the extra weight.

 _Can they all do that up here?_  

The kids don't even put up much of a fuss—they're probably used to this sort of thing though. The trees are worse than I'd imagined. Not as bad as the bear but not far from it, and there are a lot more of them. They look like ordinary trees—giant, ordinary trees—but they're moving around too much to be considered normal. If anything is that up here, anyway. Or perhaps that just means normalcy had been redefined. Their vines and roots whip around their body, and only fire keeps them back. Whenever a vine gets singed or burned away, they make an awful screaming noise—like they're in pain.

I try not to look at them; it's one of the most horrible things I've ever heard or seen.

"How much more?" Nina yells, her voice is strained with tightly controlled fear.

"Not much!" Kytes replies, holding her protectively and gripping this survival knife I would have freaked seeing him hold years ago. "It'll be okay! We've survived worse, trust me! Just keep moving!"

We move faster. There's a lot of shouting and sounds like people are fighting, it's the kind of atmosphere that breeds fear and panic. The only reason I can keep from screaming or something because the younger kids aren't. I wasn't gonna be shown up by younger kids. I can't even hear Sean complaining. The smell of smoke is overpowering. My eyes water with it. They've started lighting fires in the back as well, everyone and the trees have started to close in behind us. I don't like how it's uncontrolled—the wind makes the flames seem to bend towards us, trying to follow.

It's terrifying. Nothing to say about how my parents died, I feel like I'm in a horror movie.

"Trey!" Someone shouts—It sounded like Corrin—and a chorus of tree-shrieks sounds from around us. "No, be careful!"

I look up and my heart nearly stops.

In front of us, cutting us off from Trey's little advanced group, is a wall of flames. It circled around, catching on the wood from the mutant trees, engulfing about half of them. Now we have to stop, because we were completely surrounded by fire. Nina gasps a little and Kytes clutches her arm, pulling her close. Behind me, Sean's half fainted, leaning over Cody almost. The former energy source of the machine is greatly affected by the waves of heat coming from the flames—which isn't a surprise, considering the intensity of temperature and the fact that he's used to a controlled and stable environment.

The heat fans over my face, making the plastic of my suit stick to me. A little hotter, just a touch more, and it could melt completely.

I flinch.

"Kytes, how are we going to get out of here?" Nina cries, her voice creaking in panic.

My brother gives a reassuring smile, "Fire isn't a problem, especially when we have Trey. He can handle it, no problem."

I frown. _But how would Trey be able to deal with something like—_

There's a strange cracking noise, and the fire blocking our path in front splits in half and is thrust to the side by some unseen force. Flames ablaze. With fierce intensity to either side of our group, but in front of us is a clear path to safety. And standing in the middle of the path, with his arms extended to either side and a look of strain on his face.

_Trey..._

"Get going!" He yells to the group. "NOW!"

Everyone starts moving as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Which was probably the case, for them. As for me though, I get my feet working even though I feel a bit in a daze, passed the leader of this group, my best friend, still standing at the center of the path as kids and teens alike stream around him, arms extended, face tightly set in that expression of unnatural strain. I finally understand, at that moment, just how much people can change had changed—

And the most significant change Trey has undergone.


	26. Part 01.4 SEAN

**::SEAN::**

"It's okay, Sean." The one called Lexie assures me.

Cody agrees. "Yeah, Trey's here. He'll take care of it."

 _That's not logical_ , I think. I've never ever been this scared in my life. And I have a good reason to feel that way—the flames are so close that I can feel them even from here.

"Get going! NOW!"

I hear Trey yelling up ahead. 

"There," 

Cody has to pull me off the ground when I realize I was barely standing anymore. I have a brief glimpse of Trey in the center of a break in of the flames with his arms spread as if he can make them obey him willingly. Then we're past him, joining the front group ahead of us.

"AHH!"

"CODY?!" Corrin briefly glances back to us.

"I'm o-okay! Keep going Corrin!"

I have no time to register that. A few minutes more, the smoke thins suddenly and then, incredibly, we're stepping out on to the parched earth. We've survived. I gasp with relief as Cody collapsed when I drop down. Moisture floods his eyes— _is he crying?_  The only thing I see to have caused that reaction is a scorched mark on his arm.

"Mmm! Ahngh...!"

Something in me is triggered to move that I take his arm into my hand before Corrin could reach us. The child stares at me, wide-eyed. "It does not seem like the damage is something permanent, it's not so horridly burnt that your tendons are damaged. The epidermis is still mostly intact. A long soak in cold water should lessen the sting, and after a few days, it'll be as if nothing happened to it."

"Sean..."

"You'll be okay," I look at Cody then I caught myself. I lean back, looking away and allowing Corrin to check the child himself.  _What did I just do?!_ I should be more bothered by this. But for some reason, I am only embarrassed. That can't be the right response.

"Rest here," Kytes leads Nina and Thomas over to where we're sitting. "See, I told you we'd be all right!"

I look at the forest and shudder. The fire is spreading. The trees writhing and twisting under it. I don't think I'll ever forget the sound they made as they burned for as long as I live.

"Are we all here?" Rhys walks down the rows of exhausted, smoke stained people. I have to admit that the organization of these people is well done. "Everything okay?"

Meeko comes over, and I must be really dizzy after that exercise. For a moment, I thought saw four of them. After a blink, he's one again. "I did a clone count, Rhy-knows. A few injured, nothing big though." He tells Rhys, who hits him lightly, most possibly due to the nickname.

"Wait, where's Trey?" Nina demands suddenly, fearing coloring her voice. "He's still out there!"

Thomas starts, coming out of an almost shock-like state. "He's not—he didn't—"

"He should be back by now." Rhys frowns. "His watch should warn him of his limits."

I raise a brow. "A Watch tells time."

"There!" Cody points towards the path we just used.

There's a break in the flames lapping the forest edge and Trey steps out, the flame immediately whipping up behind him. I draw sharp breath—I can't deny what I just saw. No wonder the surface is off limits.

"I suppose we now know what the scientists meant by abnormalities." I say.

And Thomas flinches. I almost expect him to lash out at me, but he doesn't. His eyes flicks over to Kytes and Cody and for the first time, there's a sort of distance in them. Obviously wondering if they've been altered, too. Either is too busy looking worriedly at Trey to notice.

"Rhys, shit man, I think—" Meeko couldn't finish what he thinks as Rhys is already moving. "Damn shit."

I wonder why—until the scruffy haired leader stumbles and falls. He's immediately the focus of a lot of attention. The surface dwellers crowd around him, over top of them, the young man we encountered previously, Jonah, calls for Corrin's help. Rhys is telling everybody to get back. Only minutes after the healer—and I figured now that was literal—reached the crowd he's got most people out of the way and is making plans with Corrin. At least, that's what I assume they're doing. We can't actually hear from where we're seated.

"It's okay," Kytes has returned with Cody. "Trey's not hurt."

Cody nods. "Corrin says he breathed in a lot of that smoke and using his power wouldn't have helped. We'll be resting here for an hour or so before we start towards the base." he says. 

I decide to let the fact that he decided to plonk himself down beside me go unremarked. I want information.

"Cody, what Trey just did—is that considered normal in your group?"

Cody shrugs his shoulders. "Well, normal for Trey. If I did it, or if Meeko could do it, I don't think he'll ever stop hunting or fighting our radioactive enemies..."

"You have powers too?" Thomas and Nina both ask, in unison.

Cody nods, unfazed. "Uh-huh. Only, we're supposed to keep it hidden. That's why those guards back at your base capture me, I forgot and—"

A conversation with Cody is like playing this game called pinball. Once he started, you have to do your best to shift him into the topic of your interest. Fortunately, pinball is not at all complex.

"You have to concentrate to use your powers?"

"A bit. Sometimes, you have to concentrate not to use them. I've had mine for a few months, and I learned if you get emotional, it just triggers and you might make things happen without meaning to." Cody explains. "so you got to learn to control it."

I wonder if the others are thinking of the bear like I am.

"Corrin wants me to come over." Cody stands abruptly. "I'll be back."

I didn't see the healer beckon him. I watch Cody as he joins the group surrounding their leader. I wonder what power our smiling guide has. He didn't say.

"I should have known it was too good to be true," Thomas says suddenly. "Fucking Councilors. I'd like to wring their scrawny necks..."

I turn my attention back to my companions. Thomas's attention, rather curiously, shifts from Kytes, to Trey, to Cody, then back again. I watch Trey meet Thomas's gaze. His face tightens and then he looks up at Corrin with a stilted smile.

Thomas is silent.

Three days ago, if you'd ask me, I would have affirmed that silence was my preferred operating condition, that nothing was restful. Now I wish he'd say something, anything, just to end this oppressive mood.

"Maybe," Nina speaks up quietly. "maybe it's not as bad as we think. We don't know—" She stops and looks at Trey from a distance. A few minutes later she starts again. "After all, Cody's done nothing to harm us."

"Has done nothing to harm us yet." Thomas's voice is—what? Bitter? Dark?

I've become a lot more adept at reading emotion than I've used to be, and yet this still confuses me. And I thought machines were complex. But Cody—Cody is in many ways not complex. And in others, very confusing.

"Cody wouldn't hurt us. Such an occurrence does not compliment with his behavior patterns."

Thomas snorts. "And this is from the expert of human psychology. Well, I hate to say it but I think your programmer's missed a few logic circuits—"

"I wasn't the one who wanted to come up here!" I snap back.

Oddly enough, now that I turn out to have been justified in my dislike of everything beyond my machine, I'm strangely... Dissatisfied.

"We still have suits." Nina says firmly. "we can go back if we wish. But let's give the surface another chance. After all, we don't know everything—" she breaks off as Cody and Kytes rejoins us.

"How are you feeling?" Thomas's sun-haired brother asked.

Cody doesn't wait for us to answer. "You okay heading to the base now? It'll probably take you guys longer because you're not used to long walks. But you don't want to travel at night, and Trey doesn't want to put you all in danger just because he got hurt."

"It's not that far," Kytes adds, which was a relief. "once we're there, you'll be able to relax properly and everything."

"You'll really like this base, Rhys says it's something called a train—it's a type of machine, Sean." Cody smiles at me.

 _Is he trying to make me feel happy?_ I look at his hopeful expression and feel something... wistful?

"I doubt it will be anything like my machine. It was formulated and built in the few years just before the surface became unsafe and even then it was still in the trial phase—"

Kytes interrupts. "Machine?" He obviously hasn't heard the story yet.

Thomas and Nina fill him in on the last few years. I observe silently, Thomas's words from this morning in my mind. If it hadn't been for chance, Nina would have been the one sent up here. Knowledgeable, practical Nina. Kytes would be normal. I try to imagine it... Kytes, his hair cut as neatly as Thomas's, his skin just as pale. Nina would be... would she be as dark as her brother? No, she'd be dead. Another one of the countless. I'm surprised to discovered just how sad that thought makes me. It isn't fair that they were summarily singled out and expelled like that. Maybe I can discuss it with the Council to have a reformation...

Cody is helping by filling in details. Apparently, his short time spent in the underground city makes him an expert. I listened, entertained, as he tells Kytes about the magic of sliding doors and Doctors. I'm less than amused, however, when the topic reaches me.

"Lindsay had proof that the machines were unsafe. The first operator died of a heart strain—"

"There was no first operator!" I protest. "There was just me!" Thomas and Nina looked surprised. I supposed this is the first time I've really yelled. I'm too angry to care. "I'm the only one with the knowledge to manage the machine! I'm too important for them to risk my safety!"

"Sean," Nina forestalls quietly, but I'm in no mood to be reasoned with.

"It's bad enough that you're dragging me into this activity, don't pretend you actually care what happens to me in particular. You wanted to go up here to see your brothers! It was never anything to do with me!"

There is pity or something like it on their faces. I don't want to see it. Cody calls after me as I turn my back on them and stalk off.

"Sean!"

I ignore him and keep walking.

"Sean!" He catches up to me, "don't go off by yourself—this is the swamp right? Stick close and we'll get through. Don't forget the bear."

Just yesterday and I thought I'd never be able to forget that bear.

We have what, I suppose, in surface terms is a relatively uneventful journey, reaching the base shortly after Kytes, Thomas and Nina do. The rest of the surface dwellers reached here long before we did, even Trey. Cody was right, I do approve of this base. I walked up and down the tracks, looking at the train—some sort of vehicle by the design. It is divided into sections called carriages, with an engine at the front. I poke around the controls happily.

"This one here probably controlled the brakes, while I'd say these were the acceleration..."

I have an audience of not just Cody but Rhys as well so at least my speculative musings weren't falling to deaf ears—or more to the point, ignorant ears. "I'll have to show you my collection of old machines and tools. I've been attempting to restore them. However, since most of them require an external power source, there's not a lot I can do—"

"I'm sure with the right materials a generator wouldn't be too hard to pull together." I muse.

Cody is watching me again—this time, smiling slightly.

"Rhys!" Meeko calls and our companion excuses himself.

"What?"

Cody blinked at me. "What?" he echoes.

"What was that smile all about?"

The child rubs the back of his head, as if he thinks I'm going to yell at him. "I was just thinking—you almost look happy then."

I stare at him in astonishment.

"Meeko passed on Trey's instruction; he wants me to take you to your carriages." Rhys returns. "Follow me."

The carriage is large enough for three mattresses to be spread comfortably on the floor. Unlike those at the hotel, these are made from plastic cushions, which Cody tells us came from seats which used to adorn the train. The room is apparently Trey's. However, we do not see the scruffy haired leader all evening. Although not an expert, I think he's avoiding us, or more to the point, Thomas.

"What are those things?" Cody asked, watching Thomas and Nina unpack their packs.

Nina held up a device. "It's a meter designed to measure the amount of non-standard particles in an object or atmosphere."

"Huh, almost like our watches." Cody looked at the device on his wrist. Rhys mentioned something similar. I'm gonna have to ask about that. "So why'd you bring that?"

"In order to decide whether or not it was safe to take off our suits."

Cody looks at me. "Would you take off your suit if it told you it was safe?"

"Absolutely not." I snort.

Nina got the device going. "There, it's ready to go." she stands up and holds out the device. "I'll measure the room first."

*  _Level of pollution 1-2%_   _Safe for human habitation._ *

"It talks!" Cody is astonished. "how does it do that? Is it actually a person? Is that his R. Ability? What's his name?"

I raise a brow, trying not to smile and wondering why the simple reaction should be so amusing. "There's a recording inside."

Nina points the machine at Cody.

*  _Level of Pollution 22% Advise caution._  *

"Cotton?" Cody frowns. "I'm a person, not a fluff ball." he pouts, sourly.

It's somewhat refreshing, for reasons I can't explain, to see him capable of emotions beyond... happy.

"I don't understand. Below twenty five percent is not supposed to have any adverse effects on people." Thomas says.

"Hmm, maybe it'd changed if I used my powers." Cody comes up with a useful suggestion. "Want me to? It's not as dangerous as Trey's—most of the time."

Thomas nods cautiously. "That  _most of the time_ is worrisome, though..."

"Okay!"

Cody gets quiet then, and shuts his eyes. There's a minute or so when nothing happens. Then Nina squeaks as her pack floats past her. I scramble to my feet to stare in astonishment at our belongings—now floating about a meter off the ground.

"I-I can do this, too..."

Cody winces a bit and a figure slowly materializes. A figure that looks suspiciously like Thomas.

"Crap." Aforementioned blonde cursed. Cody grins suddenly as the figure disappears and the next thing I know, there's a squawk from Thomas. "Put me down!" The blond is suspended about a feet off the ground and does not look happy about it, not one bit—

I laugh.


	27. Part 02.1 CODY

**PART 02**

**::CODY::**

Thomas and the packs crash to the ground.

"Ow! I meant gently!"

I don't notice him, because I'm busy gaping in astonishment at Sean, who only laughs more at Thomas's pain. _He has a sense of humor!_ A kind of weird sense of humor, but at least he has one. "Sean, you're laughing." I announce.

Sean caught himself. He fixes me with intelligent eyes. "As bright as ever, are we?"

I sigh in relief. I thought he's gone crazy but if he's insulting my intelligence then he's all right. I beam at him. He's less... bitter, less cold. And he was having fun with Rhys. If you can call it that. He could help with building things for us—I'm sure he'd fit right in! He can learn to stop glaring and be friendly and —

"Um—Cody?" Nina is waving a hand in front of my face.

I blink, and force my gaze from Sean to look at her. "Huh?" She looks like she's going to start laughing but politely holds back.

"I said the meter gave you a twenty-eight rating when you were making when you were making stuff float around, and a thirty for producing Thomas's, uh, doppelganger, so I guess that's what makes it go off and producing images is probably harder."

I cock my head to the side. "Doppelganger?"

"It's like a clone."

I shake my head. "No, only Meeko can make clones of himself."

"Never mind," Nina tucks the machine away again, before sitting next to me. "So Trey, you, Meeko—do you all have powers? I mean, if you can move stuff around and makes images, Meeko can produce more of himself, Trey does..."

"Fire." I supply casually.

"Right." Nina nods.

She's taking this very well—a lot better than Thomas, who is still staring moodily at the wall. Maybe he's scared of fire. Some avoided Trey at first for that reason till they saw that he was a really nice guy. Thomas and Sean have almost switched places, which I think would be pretty funny, except that it's not making Trey very happy.

"Can you tell me what sort of powers they have and how you guys control it?"

I nodded happily, cause I see even Sean looks interested. "Sure!" I smile. "So Lori can walk through anything solid, alive or not. Rhys mostly involves static so he can sometimes produce electricity and he gets to make lightning, it's more powerful if he does it outside, something about exter-ex, ugh... Outside source, or whatever. Meeko can multiply, but they disappear quickly after the task he has in mind for them to do is completed. Corrin can heal, obviously. That's why he's our main healer. But he can break bones, too. That's how he uses it for fighting. Lexie can sense when things are moving around and where they are, even from miles away. Kytes can control plants, he's in charge of our gardens."

Thomas glances up at the mention of Kytes and then looks away, eyes almost pained.

"And only people from your group—"

"Genesis batch," I supplies. Both Nina and Sean are confused for a second. "that's what we call our group; Trey, Rhys, Corrin, Meeko, Lori, Lexie, Kytes and me. We're the first in this area to survive up here. And Rhys said Genesis means beginning."

Nina nods. "so only you guys have these abilities?"

"Nope, I mean, not everyone, but others do, too." I shake my head. "Remember Jonah and Leon? Well, Jonah can control shadows and travel through them. It's complicated to understand, you can ask him how it works if you like. Leon makes use of gravity force, so he can also fly if he wanted to. If you want to know everyone's powers, that may take a while. Even I don't memorize them all. But some of them have similar powers. Like Ray can make fire too, but only coming from his hands. He can't do the same for the rest of his body."

Nina nodded. "So, how do you control them? It can't be that easy to keep track, no matter how good a concentration you have."

"Yeah, you're right." I show both Nina and Sean my watch, though Thomas doesn't seem interested now. "In our third year, we found some electronic factory. Rhys was totally excited about it. He got some materials and he made us these. He didn't succeed at first, but he finally got to make a Mana Energy Device, or what we call Med watch."

Sean makes a humming sound of approval. "I assume it functions similar to the meter, as you've said earlier."

"Except it doesn't talk," I nods at him, grinning as he seems comfortable to talk to me now. "it tells us two things, this bar tells us how much energy we still have to keep using our skill, it's the Skill gauge. And the power gauge, this set of bars below it, tells us how much energy we're actually using at the time. It's like a warning when we should stop, or else the batteries would fry or we could lose control of our ability altogether."

Sean hums, almost looking... No, it's not obvious, but he is interested. "Fascinating. How long does it take to make just one?"

"Rhys taught a group of other kids almost as smart as he is so if they're all working on it, if we have the materials, it takes about three days to make ten." I shrug. "But we don't have to make more for the meantime, even if Batch seven develops powers of their own soon. There's still a bunch of extra Rhys keeps in toolbox four."

Thomas narrows his eyes. "I'm almost afraid to ask how many toolboxes he has..."

"Thirteen, so far." I replies, even though it wasn't an official question. "Some of them are makeshifts, though, that Kytes made with his powers."

Nina nods, smiling shyly suddenly. "Oh, um, do you know where he is? I'd like to talk to him. We haven't had much time together, you know—I miss him."

"Yeah, I understand." Sort of. "I think he's with Trey. Probably in the medical carriage. Need me to show the way?"

Not too hard, just straight through all the compartments, the carriage further to the end.

"That'd be great, thanks."

I look back over my shoulder before we leave. "Want to come Thomas?" I ask. "you look like you want to talk to Trey." I don't know how I know this. I just had a feeling.

"I've got some thinking to do," Thomas shakes his head. "tell him... I'll see him later, okay?"

I nods. "Okay sure, there's not much to do here. But I'll try to find something to entertain—"

Suddenly, I hear voices coming.

"I'm sorry we have to transfer you to a different room just when you're getting comfortable, Corrin needed to use that room. But I'm sure you'll like this room better. It's our leader's and bigger, so—"

It trails off as the door creaks.

"Oh, that must be—"

"Jenny." Thomas looks towards the door as Jenny entered with those other newcomers.

"I'm sure you'd—" Jenny stops and stares. "Thomas?!"

Thomas blinks in surprise. "I guess I should've expected to see you, too."

"Thomas is in there?" Lindsay's voice is heard before Jenny could form a response. "Oh, what a relief! I heard of the trouble the group you were with had encountered." She walks in.

Jenny makes this look—the kind Meeko makes when Rhys is working with other people and can't pay him attention. "Hmph. Seems like you got yourself a girl, by some miracle."

"Huh?" Thomas blinks, his cheeks reddening. "No, it's not like that."

Lindsay just chuckles, but I can see she's gotten a little shy, too. "D-don't be silly. He just did me a great favor," she smiles up at him. "Hope Sean's not being too much trouble since the drug wore off."

"Heh, he has." Thomas rolls his eyes. "so much of a trouble, you owe me for a lifetime."

Lindsay smiles. "Well, I guess it seems like we're going to be around each other for a while then."

"Ahem." Doctor Roland suddenly steps in. "Lindsay, boundaries. He's older than you."

Lindsay looked confused for a moment before turning bright red. "DAD! And what, one year apart is not a big deal."

"Mitchell, what are they talking about?"

Mitchell snickers. "Grown up stuff, I'll tell you when you're older, Milo."

"That's what you always say! Even last year! I'm older now, aren't I?"

"Er, not yet that old..."

"Ah, so I guess you've got something to keep you occupied now." I say, though I'm a little unsure, before looking over to Sean. "Bye Sean." I wave, a little awkward but doing my best to hide it.

He doesn't say anything, but he does look up at me, and his eyes aren't cold or hateful. He manages one nod. Nina smiles at me as I join her in the weird sorta hallway thing in the train.

"You're really fond of him." She says—not a question. "It's pretty sweet."

I nod, rubbing the back of my head. "So... Do you think he likes me now?"

"Give him some time, and I think he could." She answers honestly. "just keep at it, Cody. You're doing fine so far. This has to be the closest to actual human behavior I've seen him show."

"Really? You think so?" I grin.  _Can we be friends now?_  I'm actually feeling hopeful.

"Well, it's still going to take a while," Nina adds, interrupting my thoughts. "I mean, Sean isn't exactly thrilled with you, not yet. You're really going to have to work on it if you want him to really be your friend."

Oh. Yeah. Well, I guess it does need time.

"Cody!" Kytes says when I walk into the medical carriage—but he's not really looking at me. "And Nina, hi!" He's grinning really wide. He looks a little silly.

"How's Thomas?" Trey asked, a touch weakly, from his position on one of the gurneys. "And Sean." He adds as an afterthought.

"Thomas will see you later, but he's thinking right now." I report dutifully, like I'm a big boy now. "And Sean's... well, he's not complaining. He's good. I think Sean would be really good at lots of things, like working with machines with Rhys and figuring out how it works."

Corrin nodded. "That's nice," he says for Trey, who looked a little distracted.

"And are you doing all right Nina?" Kytes asked, looking a bit anxious. "I know the whole fire thing looked a little scary..." I think he'd like to ask what she thinks of the whole powers idea, but he's nervous about it.

"I'm fine," Nina assures him. "it was frightening when we were there, but it's not so bad now." She smiled. "Cody said you can control plants."

Kytes nodded. "Yeah, sounds right." he said. "it's not much, but it helps in making sure we don't starve."

"You should show me some time." Nina suggests.

And the tension between them is instantly vanished, as if it wasn't even there.

"Sure, I can do that." Kytes promises, about to take her hand. Then he thought better of it and didn't.

Nina looked a little disappointed.

"You know, Kyi—"

"Nina, I'd—"

They glance at the rest of us.

"Uh, want to talk outside? It should be safe so long as we're inside, right?" Nina suggests.

Kytes nods. "Sure," he leads her out.

"Hey Code," Trey sits up a little until Corrin makes him lie back down. He can be really obedient in his hands. "did Tom say anything while you were there? About what happened?"

I shake my head. "No, not really—" I try to remember. "Nina is okay with the powers thing. Thomas—I'm not really sure, he listened but didn't comment much. Nina got out this device that was supposed to test how much radiation was in the air, and whether it was safe to take off their suits. It talked, too—It was really pretty cool. Anyway, the room was only one or two. But I was twenty to twenty eight when I used my powers—I told them about the rest of our powers since they asked and about the watch."

Trey sighs and he looked really sad. I wanted to hug him but Corrin might not let me since he needs to rest. To hug him, I'd need him to sit a bit.

"Did Thomas say he was mad, though?"

"Uh, no, well—he's not exactly happy, but I don't think he's mad either. He's sitting there and staring at the wall and kinda acting like Sean used to—except Sean's not acting like that so much anymore. He even laughed once!"

Trey gives me a weak smile. "That's great, Cody." he says, but he's not that happy.

"Cody," Corrin gets my attention. "why don't you run along and give welcome gifts to Batch eight? Well, the rest of them, since Kytes seems to have Nina covered."

Trey didn't look amuse with that.

"Okay, I'll ask Kytes for flowers. Um... There's only one other girl. What about the boys?"

Corrin shrugs. "We usually give them knives, but since we just got here and we don't know where the crate of weapons are—later."

I nod and leave, looking for Kytes and Nina. I see them before they see me.

"Hey, Kytes?" I call, stepping out of the train.

Kytes turns to look at me but doesn't release Nina's hand. Maybe because he doesn't notice he was holding it. He finally does when he sees me looking. He lets go.

"What's up, Cody?" Kytes tries to smile.

"I need some flowers. Welcome gift."

"Sure," Kytes smiles. "I'd be happy to. And that's a good way to demonstrate for you, Nina. I did say I'd show you how my powers work."

"Sounds great."

He reaches into the pouch that he keeps tucked onto his belt and bends down to bury the seeds in the ground a little. Then he closes his eyes and a look of concentration passes over his face. A few seconds later, there are little shoots springing up from the ground. They mature right in front of our eyes, growing bigger and sprouting leaves and finally blossoming into a huge, armful of brilliant white and yellow flowers.

Nina looks in awe. "Oh wow, amazing."

"Thanks Kytes!"

"No problem, Code." Kytes picks the ones I don't and turns towards Nina.

I leave them alone and headed back to Trey's room. Mitchell is watching his brothers sleeping on another bed. The girl, Lindsay, is talking with her father and Thomas. I hear a bit what they're talking about.

"It's not so bad, just talk it out."

"You make it sound so simple."

"You're just making it seem complex."

I approach Lindsay casually so Thomas pauses what he was going to say.

"Here you go miss, for you." I hand her the flowers.

She's a little surprise. "Oh, why, thank you." she takes it.

"Wow, kid's faster than you, Thomas." Mitchell laughs.

Thomas frowns at him.

"Sure, welcome to the Surface. It's just a simple gift we give here to girl newbies." I look over to Mitchell. "we'll give you weapons, too later. Um, your brothers will have to be a little more older to get some, too, though."

Mitchell nod, and I can see he has no problem with that.

"Well, I much appreciate this, uhm,"

I open my mouth to supply my name.

"Cody." Another voice says. Sean.

I blink, looking at him.

"He was our guide."

"I see," Lindsay watches Sean carefully, so does Thomas. "friend of yours?"

I expect Sean to deny it, and I can tell so did they. Because they're as shocked as I am when he answered after a moment's silence.

"Yes."

It takes me a moment. Then I smile, real wide.


	28. Part 02.2 TREY

**::TREY::**

"Trey, this is the last time I'm going to say this—stay still."

Corrin's using that tone again, the one he uses for the especially fidgety children but won't hesitate to use it on me if I get too restless. I'm leader, I shouldn't be wasting time being idle when everyone expects me to be everywhere. So he uses it on me to get me to stay put, making me wonder if he also has the power to manipulate people to obey. I collapsed back on to my bed, pouting.

"This is a waste of time. I should be taking care of stuff—"

Corrin cuts me off. "Rhys and Meeko are well capable of taking care of everything. They have before, you know. Remember last year when you took a scouting group into the mountains to check for that potential new base Jonah told us about?" He reminded me.

"You were gone a week then and we survived." Lori notes.

He's right.

"I still don't like sitting here."

"Heh," Lori laughs from another bed. "It's a tough job, Trey. But somebody's got to do it."

I force a smile. Lori's got even longer to wait until Corrin gives him the all clear. It's still pretty amazing to think he'll be getting up at all.

"If you want something to do, I'll send in the kids. That'll keep you occupied and all," Corrin puts together his stuff. "It should take your mind off moping."

Lori looks indignant. "Who's moping?"

"Not you, for once. Trey."

I frown at Corrin. "I happen to have a lot to think about." I say in my defense."

They both looked sceptical.

"Whatever it is, it can wait." Corrin says with finality. "You are not getting out of this bed until I say so, Mister Trent Everhart." When he says it that way, he means it.

I resign to my fate.

Actually, this might be just as well—I don't think I'm ready for Thomas's judgement. He has a strong personality and can be critical. And when he's critical, he can be scary. But only because I'm scared of losing his friendship and the very real possibility that my best friend hates me and might rather return than become what I've become.

"Trey, you're broody." Corrin grabs my attention back. Doesn't take too much, when it's him. "Please try not to stress yourself."

"Yeah man, what's the problem?"

"No problem."

"Could've fooled me," Lori snorted. "C'mon, talk."

Corrin cuts in. "He shouldn't be talking. His throat's pretty raw because of the large amount of smoke he inhaled—" he thwaps me lightly. "Did you think you were impervious to it or something?"

"Ow. I just did what needs to be done." I rub the back of my head. "How else were we going to get outta there?"

Corrin sighs, and I know he knows I had a point. "Well, be more careful." Suddenly, he's giving me a tight hug. It would be a first. I feel flushed, only vaguely aware to avoid igniting. But only cause never in a million years would I allow myself to burn Corrin. "I don't want to lose you, Trey."

"Of course none of us wants to lose you, too, brave leader." Lori snickers, giving me a thumbs up and knowing look. "But I guess that's beneath the point." I can so tell he's having fun watching me have a sexual frustration.

Corrin pulls away. "And who cares what this Thomas guy thinks?" he scoffed. "You've done good things. And we'll always have your back, you know? I mean, I know I'll always be there for you."

"Yeah, thanks Core, but he is my best friend." I sigh, looking down. "he's important to me, not to mention I don't like him angry with me." I shudder at the thought. Thomas can be pretty scary when he's... critical.

Corrin huffs. "Oh, I see." I start at the change of tone, looking up and see that he has this expression on his face. "sorry for not considering your feelings then." he went to his medical tools.

"Eh?" I'm confused. What just happened here? "Uh, no, I think you were... plenty considerate."

Corrin didn't respond.

"Trey," I turn to Lori who calls me. " _Mukankakuna_ _baka_."

I narrow my eyes, "Muck a what?"

"Kiriho taught me some phrases that she once used back when there were no radiation," Lori rolls his eyes at me. "go ask her what I meant."

A slight movement at the doorway gains our attention. Thomas stands there, looking grim. For some reasons, this also makes Lori face palm.

"Trey?"

"He's resting." Corrin snaps firmly, and I'm wondering where the hostility is coming from. I mean, even Thomas is flinching. "get out." he makes me lie back down.

I don't protest. I rather he sends him out than I face Thomas now.

"Corrin." Lori calls out, giving the healer a certain look when he looks at him. "dude, you're better than that."

_What the hell, Lori?_

Corrin sighs, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry Thomas, I've been... stressed recently. You can stay, as long as you don't cause him strain."

Thomas nods and sits on a nearby chair. He plays with the frayed edges of the blanket he's sitting on. Like he was playing on a piano, like the one that used to be in the daycare we went to as kids.

"You still do music?" I asks.

Thomas looks startled by the question, then shakes his head. "Not in the way I used to. I worked as a Radio DJ, but I'm mostly a chef. My Uncle saved and saved, bought me a guitar. Luxury goods, you know. It wasn't cheap. He bought it to keep my mind of Kytes, but I couldn't even get in the mood to use it since he left. I played it for a while though, after his death." He shrugged. "But then, we needed extra money, Nina and I, so you know—" A shrug dismissed the loss.

I know it meant more to him than he let's on, though.

There's a long silence.

"I'm gonna head out for my lunch break," Corrin speaks up suddenly, and I look at him in alarm, silently he begging him not to go, but I cringe at his glare. "Shut up Trey, you're a cause of stress, stress makes me hungry." he left the carriage.

Lori yawns, but I can almost sense it's faux. "I, uh, I'm gonna go to sleep. I've eaten, so—wake me up if Meeko is being a bother." He lays down, closing his eyes in fake slumber.

Though his eventual snore tells me that he wasn't faking it now.

"What'd you do to your man-crush?" Thomas asks lightly, but I can tell he was only barely trying to sound casual.

I shrug. "I honestly have no clue. Give him more work load just right after Lori got better?"

Thomas hums, seeming to accept that answer. Then, his face gets distant again. This can't be good.

"So, when were you planning on telling us about these... powers thing?"

I flinch at the coldness of his tone _. I'm supposed to be a brave leader? Yeah right Lori! I can't even confess my feelings to Corrin or face my best friend head on!_ As it was, I'm avoiding consistent eye contact.

"I thought you already found out... From what Cody said, that was the reason he was taken..."

"He forgot to mention that part to us."

"Yeah, well... I told him to keep it hidden before he left. I wasn't sure if we could trust the Underground—" I stop.

I don't want to sound as if I'm accusing him.

"So," Thomas continues tersely. "How did it happen, and for how long?"

"It'd be years now." I say, "The first time Kytes and I've been sent up, it was around summer. See, the radiation did something, triggering shit called Mana. Rhys figured out two years after that more particles of it were present due to the heat. We got separated from our group and attacked by wolves."

"Rabid wolves?"

I falter a bit. _Well, at least Cody explained that part to them._ I nod. "Yeah, we scattered. Me and some other guys, you know, Meeko, Rhys—"

"Genesis batch."

 _Seriously, did Cody explain everything_ but  _our powers?_ I shake my head to myself, "Yeah, only Lexie and Kytes stayed with Cody. He was still a baby then. Rhys sometimes get nightmares, since among the eight of us, he was almost eaten. We stayed inside this cave cause for some reasons, the wolves wouldn't come in. Then after a while, Lexie was able to sense that the wolves were gone."

"Her powers," Thomas concludes.

At least he could easily pick up the information, though how he would react is what worries me. "Yeah, and she only thought it in her head. But we were all able to hear it. She was surprised, since she hadn't spoken a single word."

"Telepathy?" Thomas's voice sounds faint. "so you can read minds too?"

There's a slight edge of—what? Resent?—in his voice. "Yeah, a byproduct of our Mana. Almost everyone's got it. It's a little bit harder than talking. Trying to think loud..."

"Can you read my thoughts?"

I shake my head. "I don't know, I haven't tried. And it'd be a first doing it with someone who hasn't been affected by radiation long enough... or in your case, at all."

"Try."

I raise a brow. "Tom, I don't want to, Rhys said our powers can be connected to it, too. I might hurt you as well—I don't think this is such a good idea."

"I said try it, Trey."

 _So bossy,_ I sigh.

I try concentrating. Telepathy between those with powers and those without them... It's never been tried before. Rhys would be upset that I tried to test it without letting him observe. I can tell him it's not so bad at first, just hard. Like trying to Rollerblade up hill. His thoughts are faint. I can try clawing my way like I was clawing at a brick wall—and would be just as productive. The only thing I've produced is a headache.

Wait, just there—a glimpse of gold and ice blue. I pushed a little and feel Thomas's mind—I know it's hard to make sense of it. I try it now.

// _T_ _om? Hello?_ //

I feel a shock and a tingly but prickly sensation. Thomas falls back—And I mean his thoughts—with an image of a burst of flames.

"Ow!"

"T-Tom? Wh-what did I do?"

"Ngh..." Thomas sits up on the floor. I guess the actual him fell too. "I'm not entirely certain, but I think you just burned my mind..."

I frown. "Well, don't blame me. It was  _your_ idea."

"Trey, I wasn't blaming you..."

"Yes, you were!"

"Whoa, why are you mad? You were the one who—"

I didn't let him finished. "See that? I know you think I'm terrifying, I saw that much back at the glade. I know you don't think it's cool, what I've become. Some kind of sick joke, right? I'm sorry if your parents died in a burning house and I'm sorry my powers is related to fire. But it's not like it was my choice! Either way, I've saved lives with the help—!" I'm caught off guard with a flick on my forehead. I see Thomas giving me a dry look.

"Trey," He begins, exasperated. "didn't your son tell you I'd be thinking when I didn't come to see you?"

"My son—Cody? Are we back to that again?"

Thomas ignores that. "Well, I did. And here's what I was thinking: It will take some getting used to. But if I had to choose between finding you up here dead or finding you mutated but still generally the same—then that matters more. You're alive, you've kept Kytes alive. For that, I can only be grateful." He narrowed his eyes at me. "But if you ever burn my mind again, I'm taking Corrin from you like I'll be taking Lindsay now."

"Eh?" I gape at him before relief suddenly washes over me. So I'm not losing my best friend after all—wait a minute. "What, Lindsay? Lindsay Caghan? She's here too?"

"Yeah, and I have to say, she's gotten prettier." Thomas gives me a mischievous grin. "you're in for some competition dude, I'm fairly popular with the ladies."

I return the grin with a smirk. "Heh, yeah, the ladies. Sure you are~" I snort, before narrowing my eyes. "Well, you can have her. But leave Corrin alone, cause I saw him first, got it?"

We stare each other down for a while, before we burst out laughing, like it was the old times again.


	29. Part 02.3 THOMAS

**::THOMAS::**

The door suddenly slides open, some kids are running in.

"Kids! You are not supposed to be running in here or holding sharp objects, especially while running!"

And the kids are laughing.

"Whoa!"

Then one of them trips and an arrow flies towards me.

"Tom, look out!"

I leap sidewards and tumble a bit. I saved myself... but my suit has a tiny rip. I stare at it, a bit horrified. But then, there was no real reason to panic anymore, was there? I shrug dismissively, and unzip the neck part and step out of the giant sandwich bag. Jenny was too busy scolding the kids to notice.

"You almost shot him! You kids have to be more careful before you hurt others along with yourselves!"

"Hey, go easy on them. Kids will be kids, you know." I say casually. But Trey's gaping at me, I grin at him. "Catching flies, are we, bud?"

Trey shakes his head. "Thomas, you took off your suit."

Jenny seems to notice now too.

"Observant, aren't you?" I face him. "Well, now that it's obvious that the radiation isn't gonna kill me, then I don't have much cause to be concerned." I point out. "It got ripped anyway, so it didn't exactly give me a choice anymore. But it's not a real prob—"

I trail off as Jenny is suddenly hugging me tight. "So you aren't going back, oh, that's great!"

"Uh... Yeah, hehe."

I laugh, intending it to be light-hearted, but I think it came out awkward. I wrap my own arms around her. I remember how Jenny always got snappy at me and got upset by the smallest things, but she also had her moments that made her a sweet girl. Then I notice Trey trying to mouth something at me but I couldn't make sense of it. I raise a brow at him. He narrows his eyes then I felt a familiar tingling sensation in my head.

// _Lindsay Caghan, dude. Make up your mind._ //

I widen my eyes and scrambled away in surprise. I'm still not used to hearing voices in my head.

"Gah!"

"Woah!"

"Ouch!"

Lori wakes up in shock, probably from the noise. "Huh?! What the—" He looks over at us. "Uh, what's happening?"

"I'm ba—" Corrin chooses that moment to return. He trails off and doesn't look pleased. "What."

I swear I'm sweating. "Er, I can explain..."

I can figure it looks bad; I've tumbled into Trey's bed with him, my head lying on his  _nether regions_. Trey's face is probably an expression of pain. And Jenny's sprawled over my lap. The kids—the demons they were—pointed at my general direction, all chanting at the same time.

"It's his fault."

Needless to say, Corrin has officially kicked me out—almost literally—for disrupting the rest his patients should be getting. I can hear him scolding Trey from outside, so that made me feel a little better. But now Jenny's upset with me, too, so I have a stinging cheek coupled with a sore butt.

I walked around the train for a while, to find something to do. I met up with Jonah and Leon doing—well, what Trey probably wants to do with Corrin. And they looked very worried, like I'd judged them for it. But I just nodded at them and ask why they looked worried since I  _didn't see anything_ and they both looked relieved and grateful. I asked them if they'd seen my brother and they pointed me to the right direction. When I walked away from them, though, I heard Leon scolding Jonah for getting them caught by me and he mentioned that both Cody and I knows now—

I face palmed, hoping with all my cynic mind that what Cody walked into was something more  _safe for work_  than what I saw. When I found my brother, I saw him playing with a ragged soccer ball along with Nina—who was, now, out of her suit as well.

"So, tired of being a walking plastic bag?" I quip.

Nina smiles at me, before then again, she was side-glancing my brother, so really, who was she smiling for? "Yeah, I was going to come and tell you that I was staying. That's why I took off the suit before I came looking for you. You couldn't very well forbid me to stay if I was already contaminated. But I see that you—"

"Yup, I'm staying too," I nod. "Not like returning underground's gonna be any better if I've got a death sentence waiting for me. Besides, someone's gonna have to help your brother get Corrin."

Nina laughs but Kytes only looked confused. "Get Corrin?"

"No way," I blink. "you don't know?"

Kytes is still puzzled. "What?"

"Bro, he's into Corrin. Like, uh," I lean forward to whisper. "How you're into Nina?" I move back. "If I'm not reading it wrong, of course."

Kytes turns red. "Tommy!" He nudges me and I laugh, before grabbing him in a head lock, giving him noogie. "Ah! Stop it! I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Nope! You're still my kid brother!" I snicker, before finally stopping and embracing him. "And you always will be..."

Kytes sigh before hanging one arm around my back. "Yeah, guess I am..."

It really feels good to have a little brother again, and if I ever had any regrets during this whole thing, and if I figure I would die tomorrow anyway with the whole radiation exposure thing, I'll still be thankful to share this one moment with my brother.

"So, again, you're sure Trey's into Corrin? I mean, he did like Lindsay back then."

... Even if he can be a little dense about certain things.

"Yeah, yeah, he is." I sigh. "And I don't think his man-crush likes me much after today—maybe Corrin likes Trey, too, and he just sees me as a competition. I'm gonna have to fix that..."

Kytes raises a brow, and I look at him curiously when he gave me a once over. "Nah. Trey can do better," he grins cheekily at me after. "Corrin's got no competition."

"You brat—!" I give him a noogie once more.


	30. Part 02.4 SEAN

**::SEAN::**

I just called Cody my friend. But why? It's strange. It just seemed like the thing to say at the time. He's sleeping now. beside me on the mattress. And I don't shove him away or even move. I don't understand at all, even watching him sleeps seems to make me relax now.

I decide to think more about it in daylight.

Then I dream again. Vague and blurred, just like the others. But from what I was able to understand, two brothers were being separated. The older of the two screaming his protests even as he was being taken away.

 _Give him back! He's my baby brother! My brother_ —

He continued to say other things, too. But it was wordless, I couldn't hear it anymore. Then I woke up and I heard the news regarding Thomas and Nina. And I am not happy. Cody was at first, then when he saw me not being thrilled as he was, he is now confused.

What else was new?

"Sean, can't you at least smile?"

"What do I have to smile about? I'm in the company of lunatics."

Cody tilts his head. "But Nina and Kytes are happy. Trey and Thomas are talking to each other again. They're happy—well, after Corrin forgave them, yeah, they are."

"Good for them," I growl. "As for me, I will never forgive them."

Cody stares at me, perplexed. "I don't understand. Aren't you glad that the people you care about are happy?"

"I don't care about them. I think that they've let their emotions make what would be a disastrous decision. We still don't know nearly enough about how the atmosphere of the surface could effect us." But I don't sound convicted as much as I'd like.

Cody shakes his head. "That's not it," he says. "what's really bothering you, Sean?" He scoots closer to me. I don't order him away. I guess I've come to accept this, even appreciate it. It makes me feel less lonely...

Wait—I'm lonely? "I'm afraid." I relent. "Before everything was so clear cut. I hated Thomas and I hated the surface and I hated you. But things have changed. You, Thomas, and Nina... Even if I didn't enjoy it or choose it, that's the most contact I've had with people in my life. I didn't think it would come to an end. Now—I don't want it to end."

"What makes you think it will end?"

Cody doesn't laugh or interrupt with stupid questions. Instead, his eyes are sympathetic and he's frowning, like he's trying to understand. It's probably a struggle for him. He does everything so easily impulsively. For a moment, I'm jealous.

"It will have to. I'm going back Underground, remember?"

"You don't have to," Cody looks at me earnestly. "You could stay. We'll look after you, and you'll learn to look after us, and you could help Rhys with the machines, and I bet you'd like it."

I stare at him. I think I finally understand. "The tracker—back at the hotel. This is why you didn't tell anyone. Not because you wanted something from me, but because you wanted me to stay," I conclude.

"Yeah..." Cody looks hesitant.

And I find myself... well, sad. His eyes are so full of hope. "I'm so sorry, Cody." I try to be as gentle as possible but his face falls.

"It's okay, I understand. I'll see you around, I guess. I've got... stuff to do." Cody runs off and out of the carriage.

I feel strangely... regretful. As if Cody is somehow my responsibility. Although illogical, it's a feeling I can't quite shake off. I sighed and turn back to the walls. Thomas and Nina don't come back to our carriage. I'm somehow not surprised. Given what Cody told me before he left, they have reasons to be absent.

But I miss them.

Staring at the walls is rather tedious when you don't have anyone to ignore. About an hour later, I realized something else: I missed Cody. I'm starting to wish there was some way I could make him feel better. I can't promise to stay, but there has to be something I can do.

"Anyone in here?"

I turn to see a female, if memory serves, I believe her name was Lexie.

"Oh, you. Um, Sean right? Hi."

I nod vaguely.

"Have you seen Trey anywhere?" She asks. "My brother is upset because he was missing. I thought he'd be with Thomas."

I shake my head. "Neither Nina nor Thomas has returned in my wakeful hours."

"Uh, okay?" She looks confused. "Just... if you see Trey, can you tell him to go back to the medical carriage before my brother goes manic?"

I nodded. "Understood. Um, Lexie? May I ask you something."

"Oh, sure." She waits. "What is it?"

"Cody. What does he like? I want to give him something."

Lexie appears to think. "Hmm... He likes to play." I give her a look of discontent. "What?"

"I meant an object."

"He doesn't really anything specific. He likes people, and he likes to spend time with them." She explains, and that made more sense. "Playing works. So, go and try it." She winks before leaving.

I sit there for a while and sighed. I stood up to go and find him. I haven't gone around this base without someone with me yet. I'm a little nervous. But I don't ask directions. The surface dwellers are busy with their day to day tasks. So I don't disturb them. Unlike the last base, the train is just situated in the middle of a big, flat open space, surrounded by grass and with a forest bordering one end. The sky is so overhead, so distant. It's better once I'm amongst the trees, although I could still get attacked.

 _Why did I think Cody could be here?_ Perhaps I should have acquired a weapon of some sort before leaving the base. Like those guns Thomas had taken. Then I slip on a slope and I suddenly land on someone.

"For crying out loud—I almost got Trey and this stealth mode down too!"

"Thomas?"

The blond's scowl turns to a look of utter surprise as he sees me. "Sean? What are you doing here?"

"And where's Cody?" Trey's voice is heard and I see him approaching us. I also see he's trying not to laugh at our awkward positioning.

I scramble away quickly. "I was looking for him."

"Why?" Thomas ask as he adjusts the bandana on his forehead.

"To play with him."

Thomas trips on absolutely nothing. For some reasons, I found that offensive. "No, really. Why?"

"My answer is not changing on account of your disbelief, Mr. Stone." I scowl. Then I notice him without a suit for the first time. "How does it feel?"

"What? Disbelief?"

"No, without the suit."

"Oh, well, wonderful actually. It's hard to explain," But he tries anyway. "the air out here tastes better, the breeze, moving around. I feel alive again."

I don't bother to point out the illogicalities of the last bit. I'm sure he's aware of it. Instead, I concentrate on trying to understand. "So why are you guys out here?"

"Hanging out, breaking rules... Oh, and trying to learn about self-defense." Thomas shrug. "if I'm staying here, I need to learn eventually."

Trey laughs. "Yeah, but he's barely getting stealth mode."

"Hey, I almost got you this time if it weren't for Sean's dropping in."

"Yeah, but we should probably head back soon. We stay out any longer, Corrin's gonna send a search party."

"We'll worry about it when it happens, lover boy. It's nice to be outside for once, without being worried of an attack."

"Tom!"

I interrupt before they can forget I'm here, "And you don't mind?"

"Mind what?"

"The pollution? Infections?" I gesture to the atmosphere, Trey. "Bacteria?"

Thomas's face tightens and he steps towards me angrily. "That's my friend you're calling a bacteria..."

"Dude, easy. I don't think he meant it offensively." Trey pulls him back calmly.

"Meant what like what?"

Thomas studies me for a moment. "Those people who put you into the machine never told you about tact, did they?"

"I didn't mean to insult Trey, I was just asking!" I flare back at him. "what's wrong with a straightforward question?"

Thomas raises his arms up in surrender. "Well, in answer to your question, no, I don't mind."

"And the fact that we don't know how this atmosphere could affect us doesn't bother you at all?"

Thomas sighs. "Look Sean, no, we don't know the extent of what the surface can do, and yes that is a bit worrisome. It may change me, sure, but I think that love is worth taking the risk."

"Love?"

Thomas nodded, looking at me seriously. Trey snorts, and mutter something along the lines of ' _sap_ '. "Shut up, Schoolgirl, you're the one with the crush." The leader glares at him at that, but Thomas is looking at me now. "I love my brother, I care for my friends here. And the friends I've made so far that lived and want to live here—"

Corrin's voice is suddenly heard. "TREY! THERE YOU ARE!"

"—even if one of those friends might want to kill me now."

Trey swallows thickly. "Correction, kill both of us." He turns to the healer. "Hey Core—"

"Don't you ' _hey Core_ ' me Mister!" Corrin smacks the side of Trey's head, light enough that it wouldn't hurt... well, not enough to injure, at least. "I was worried sick! Do you want to make my job harder? I'm trying to take care of you, damn it!" He then turns to Thomas. "And you Mr. Best friend, if you were actually that, you shouldn't be dragging him out here for whatever reasons. He's trying to recover, for goodness' sake! He might look better on the outside, but the body's inside works a little differently! Unless you think you know how to care for his injuries better than me, leave my patient alone!"

Thomas look a little intimidated, and I have to admit, I found that strangely satisfying. "I was—uh, just—I was helping him with some—uh, plans he has for you!"

Trey looked incredulous and Corrin seemed confused.

"Tom! What the hell?!"

"What?"

Thomas looks chagrined... but it seemed... feigned? "Whoops, cat outta the bag now. Regardless, he's sorry for worrying you with the whole fire thing yesterday, so he's planning to make it up to you."

"With you—who I'm not exactly happy with right now, either—helping him out?" Corrin raises a brow.

Trey looks like he wants to say something, but he still looks to be in disbelief.

"Then it can also count for my apology," Thomas grins, giving a thumbs up. "Just meet him up the train after sunset. You will not be disappointed. And I promise I'll get him back to the room I share with Sean and Nina to continue the planning. So he'll get his rest."

Corrin still looked skeptical but sighs, as if relenting. "Well, I admit I'm curious now." He glares at Trey. "but before this—whatever surprise—you better get plenty rest, got it? Now I gotta go, make sure Meeko is not pulling a Thomas with Lori..." He trudges off.

"TOM! What the shit?!" Trey glowers once Corrin seemed out of earshot. I move back a bit as his watch was beeping and he pauses to take deep breaths. "if you were not my best friend, I could kill you."

Thomas laughs, looking really pleased with himself for whatever reasons. "You gotta admit, I did you favor." he smirked. "you'd probably have gray hair before you have the guts to even ask him out on a date."

"This isn't—what the fuck—this isn't a date, damn it! This is your stupid idea!" Trey grabs the front of the blond's shirt. "And I was totally content to take this secret to the grave!"

Thomas doesn't seem faze in the slightest. "Yeah, now, you'll unfortunately get the chance not to be single for life." He rolls his eyes. "You're welcome."

"Tom!"

"You gonna keep yelling at me or are we going to plan? Come on man, let's get you to lie down before you get a heart attack."

"I feel like my heart is under attack, damn it, thanks to you!"

I decide to leave them before things get more complicated. I see Jonah fussing around the campsite and I slowly approach him, mumbling something about Leon and questioning boundaries. I cleared my throat to get his attention.

"Excuse me, you are Jonah, correct?"

Jonah whips his head toward me. "Bloody hell, mate!" he swears... I think. "What are you doing here?" He ask, like I'm out of place. I probably am.

"Looking for Cody."

"He's sharing a quarter with Lori and Meeko. At the room where Corrin is treating patients."

I nods and walks off.

"Hey!"

I jolt, and for a moment I consider the idea of him attacking me, before glancing back. "What?"

"Are you not going to offer gratitude?"

I am a little taken aback before I try the words carefully. "Thank you." It feels weird to say them Jonah studies me for a moment before looking satisfied.

"Hmph. Okay, off with you then."

I moved on. That was certainly new.

**—O—**

I find Cody, sharing a chair with Meeko as they conversed with his twin, as I enter the Medical carriage. Corrin is obviously already there, but as they were no patients present, he seems to be reading a medical journal of sorts.

"Cody?"

"Sean?" The child sounds surprised. "Is there anything you need?"

"Yes, You. Do you want to..." I try the word. "play?"

Cody blinks. "With you?"

"Yes." I nod awkwardly, since the three other males are watching us. "Unless you prefer to do something else. We could do that, too."

"With you?"

I try not to laugh that he is echoing his questions. "Yes, with me, whichever way."

"Woah, I remember that newbie being a sourpuss. Damn, the Coco bean's sure good at getting to people."

"Meeko, don't be rude." His brother reprimands, however effective that would be as he's still smiling, or smirking. "And why can't you just use his general nickname?"

Meeko huffs, "Hmph, there'd be no originality if I did."

"Trust me, bro," Lori snorts, "No originality is better than _your_ originality."

"Hey! Just because I ain't gonna hit you, you being injured and all, doesn't mean—"

Meeko stops, jostled by Cody who jumps to his feet with a grin. "YEAH! I know a nice place in this time, perfect before sun down! Come on!" He runs passed me, grabbing my arm and tugging me forcefully to keep up.

There is a ladder down the side of one of the train carriages, a lot easier to climb than a tree. Cody and I sit up on top of the carriage and watch the sunset. I've been looking for Cody for the most part of the day, it seemed. I look to the child, finding a little trinket around his neck. I frown, feeling drown to it for some reasons.

"I bet you don't get anything like that underground."

"No," I murmur. "No we don't."

It intrigues me, the sunset. There is no use for it to be so pretty. It does not affect its job at all. It gains no benefit. And yet... it just is.

"What's the purpose?"

"Of what?"

"For nature to be so... beautiful."

The word sounds weird, especially coming from my mouth. Cody scratches his head.

"Uh, I don't know... It just... makes you feel happy, I think?" He looks at me. "How do you think that works? How things just make you happy by just being there?"

I open my mouth to answer that I had no opinion of the matter. Then there's a flash of light out there in the distance. Then another one. I frown, it looks like the sunset is glinting off metal but there wasn't anything like that when we walked through yesterday—

The tracker. They've come.


	31. Part 03.1 CODY

** PART 03  
**

**::CODY::**

It takes me a few seconds to realize Sean isn't going to finish the sentence.

That isn't much like him. I look over to see what's up and he's staring out at something in the distance.

"Sean?" There's a look on his face like he just ate something that was really rotten.

He tears his eyes from whatever he was looking at and towards me again. "I'm sorry. I thought I saw something."

"Really? What?" I glance towards where he was looking before and see a brief glint of something from a fair distance away. It's not like anything I've seen before, and I've seen a lot up here. "I see it!" I jump up. "But I don't know what it is. I'm gonna have to tell Trey—"

"Don't bother," Sean's quiet, emotionless words interrupt me. I looked back and he's staring at those glinting speck. "I know what it is."

"You do?" I blink. "But you haven't been on the surface for more than a couple of days. How could you know—" I stop and stare at him as he pulls out a familiar object. The tracker. _But... That means..._ I sit down again with a thump. "then... those are them. From the underground." He doesn't say anything; he doesn't look at me. "So you're still leaving?" I stand again and move over to the edge of the roof and jump back down.

"CODY!?"

Sean cries, finally snapping out of whatever trance he was in.

"I have to go!"

I don't know why, but this doesn't feel like the first time I felt this way, I felt like this happened before. And it makes me sad. But I can't think clearly. I ran back to the medical carriage, just as Corrin seemed to be leaving it. Great, I did not want to go to him to disturb his work or have anyone else see my cry, even if they were Lori and Meeko.

"Corrin!"

He whips around in shock, looking around before glancing lower to see me going for him. "Co—" He exhales sharply when I dove and crashed into his stomach before crying. "Cody?! Hey, hey, what's the matter?" He sounds alarmed. "you're not hurt, are you? Was it Sean? Did he say something mean again?"

"N-no, he didn't..."

I told him about the glint and the tracker. Corrin seemed frozen in shock for a moment.

"Oh kiddo, come here," He wrapped his arms around me and carried me up. "I'm so sorry, you really are fond of him, aren't you? I'll talk him into staying..."

"No!" I shake my head. "Then he'll hate me again! I don't want him to hate me, I want him happy, I just don't..."

Corrin studies me for a while. "Look, Cody, I need to tell Trey about the people from the Underground, since he's going to need to know." I'm placed back down, and I panic at his words, but Corrin takes my face in his hands and smiled softly. "But I promise not to mention Sean, okay?"

"Thank you Corrin!" I embrace him again.

He laughs, returning the hug before standing. "Now get going, go talk to Sean. It might make you feel better, okay? I'll meet with Trey, now."

"All right."

Corrin leaves and I do my best to wipe my tears before I head off. I don't want Sean to see me crying. There's still time. I could try making Sean like it here better so he wouldn't want to leave. I ask around where Sean was. I doubt he's still up on the train. Someone said he's back at the room he was staying in.

"Sean!" I burst into the room and find... Thomas. "Oh, hi Thomas."

Thomas places some papers down where he had been writing something on. "Woah, don't look too happy to see me, bluebird." He looks different somehow, without the suit on. Clearer, almost. More real. "Sean's not here, but he was looking for you earlier.

"Uh, yeah. He found me. But I left and now I don't know where he is." I tell him. "Uh, how's Trey been lately?"

"Good, got a date later." Thomas snickers, and I raise a brow. "I'm preparing a meal plan for him now, once he gives me the all clear signal to use their kitchen."

"What's a date?"

Trey suddenly bursts in, nearly bumping into me. He apologise quick before looking at Thomas. "You can use the kitchen now! Come on, let's not keep Corrin waiting!"

"Dude, relax! It will all be fine." Thomas sighs, taking the papers with him, he stands and follow Trey out.

"I don't understand this dating concept." Sean frowns, coming up from behind me.

I jump, "Oh, Sean! Don't do that!" I gasp, before turning towards him. "I've been looking for you. I'm gonna spend tomorrow and as long as I can so you would have a good time up here!" I promise him. "And tonight..." I have to think about that for a while.

"Tonight I sleep." Sean completes for me. "My instincts tell me that your idea of fun will use every scrap of energy I possess. So I'd better get plenty rest."

I guess that makes sense. "Okay... Um, Sean?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you like your machine so much?"

"Hmm... It's not about liking, really. I felt it was important."

"Don't you ever get lonely?" I frown. "you told me once you don't get to see many people."

"Only the techs." Sean shrugs, like it's no big deal. "I'm not in contact with them often either, though."

"It sounds lonely,"

I can't imagine being cut off from the whole world and shut away from people, away from Corrin and Trey. My whole life, I've been surrounded by people, friends, sharing laughs, hugs and having fun. It'd be so weird to leave that life, to be so alone and quiet, so empty.

That explain Sean though, I think I understand now.

"I wasn't concerned with loneliness." Sean says flatly. "I had a very important job to handle. Loneliness—or any other emotion—would've been a burden. I choose not to saddle myself with petty concerns." His voice doesn't sound as sure as it did when we first came up here.

For some reasons, I feel sad for him. And I think I made the right decision by patting his back comfortingly. He doesn't move away. He looks at me with intense blue eyes and gives what seems to be a small effort to smile.

"I've hurt you," He says in a tone I don't recognize, coming from him. "I apologize."

"It's okay, it's no big deal."

Sean nods, and then looks at the window. "I guess it's time I sleep. Shall I see you in the morning then?"

"Uh, yeah. Good night."

Sean looks at me then tries the phrase. "Good night." Then he goes to his bed in Trey's room.

"Hey Cody!"

I turn to see Rhys coming up to me. "Yes Rhys?"

"Would you mind keeping the newcomers company? I need to work on some new batteries since Meeko and Trey fried there's last time." He tells me. "Since Lori's injury and the evacuation and settling, I couldn't get around to it lately. Oh, show them to their rooms too."

"Okay, any rooms that are empty or occupied ones with more space, right? I'm on it." I nod before rushing off.

Then I remember the other girl, Lindsay, was a tech. Maybe she might explain Sean more to me.

"Oh hello, you're the boy from before." Lindsay smiles at me.

Doctor Roland gives me a similar smile. "It's good to know you're okay and healthy now."

"Yeah, thanks again for that medicine." I grin. I see they've taken off their suits too, maybe because Thomas and Nina took of theirs. "Anyway, I was asked to bring you all to your personal rooms now... Or at least, ones where you can share space. We don't really use rooms much except to sleep, so once you get to life up here, it doesn't really matter if it's big or small."

Doctor Roland nods. "Yes, that sounds practical. We understand."

"It can't be any less cramp than those so called orphanages, anyway." Mitchell shrugs, carrying his brothers, one on his back and the other in front.

For some reasons, seeing him act like that makes me wistful.

"Have you decided your batch leaders, by the way?" I ask as I lead them around, looking for available carts.

Lindsay nods. "Dad will probably join Corrin in the medical bay once we're well-adjusted. They already get along, anyway. So we can't also give him the responsibility. Instead, we went for Thomas as batch leader since so far, he's been out and about compared to the rest of us, and Mitchell as Second-in-Command." She smiles at the taller boy. "Since half the time he is the one looking after the members when the leader isn't around."

"Yeah, well when your batch only has seven other members, and the two of them being related—" Mitchell rolls his eyes. "It seems like a no-brainer."

I frown,  _No-brainer? They don't have brains?_ I shake my head, deciding to focus on Rhys's instruction. "That's actually good. You only have to watch after few people. Some batches have eighty members, even the Second-in-Commands have Second-in-Commands."

"Wow," Mitchell blink. "I'm surprise you keep count."

I shrug. "I don't, but Rhys insists to keep a list... Well, a journal now, though."

We find an occupied room that could take in three more people so Mitchell and his brothers got that. A little later, we found another that had space to occupy two people. The other occupants weren't there though so I helped them get settled in.

"Thanks for the hospitality." Lindsay smiles at me. "if there's anything you need from us, don't hesitate to ask,"

I smile at her shyly. "Well, there is one thing..." I start. "Sean."

"Yes? What about him? I see that he still hasn't taken off his suit."

"He still wants to leave."

"Well, I wouldn't want him to do that, since I went through all the trouble to get him out." Lindsay grunts, "Cody, right? Hmmm,"

"What's wrong?"

Lindsay frowns. "Well, I just.... I keep thinking I've heard your name somewhere before and that it's important."

"Well, Corrin told me my name is a pretty common one, even from before the radiation and Mana." I offer. "maybe you know another Cody."

"It's possible..." Lindsay nods. "Anyway, so you seem to be the only one getting along with Sean." She smiles and places her hand on my shoulder. "Maybe you can get him to stay."

I try to smile, too. "That's what I'm hoping for, as well."


	32. Part 03.2 TREY

**::TREY::**

"If I don't survive this date, I'll kill you."

"Or be eternally grateful, whichever works for me." Thomas winks at me.

I'm glad to have a best friend again. But I'm now starting to see disadvantages.

"Don't worry, you're not completely on your own. I will be coming in from time to time to serve your food." Thomas pats my back. "It's a good thing this base has a diner and kitchen cart. I'm impressed. Now quit stalling, go up there and get your man."

I grunt, but figured that if I made Corrin wait too long, he might get even more upset with me than he already is. "I'm going to wring your neck, Tom, so help me..."

"Ah, wait, before I forget—" I glance back and see flowers. "Kytes is rooting for you... pun intended."

I widen my eyes. "He knows—?! What the, flowers?!"

"It's a metaphor. Guys always give their dates flowers, heh, it might come out as Corrin being the girl though."

"He's not gonna appreciate—!"

"Trey! Is that you down there?"

I swear silently, swiping the flowers and climbing up the train top in a rush that when I get up, I almost bump into Corrin square in the face and fall back. Luckily, he was quick and steadied me.

"Be careful, you idiot," Corrin scowls, "don't injure yourself any further than you should. Look, I have to tell you something—"

I didn't let him finish cause I was tired of him being upset with me. "Here you go!" I practically shove the flowers to his chest. "For you!"

"Huh?" Corrin blink, staring at the flowers in disbelief. "Uhm, thank... you?" He takes them gingerly. "So this was the surprise? Well... I guess I am, but... this wasn't really what I was expecting. I mean... Flowers." He smiled awkwardly. "Uhm, I really appreciate the thought but... yeah, what's the thought?"

I rub the back of my head. I knew this was going to be awkward on the get go, but the flowers was a last minute thing. So I gave the answer Thomas suggested. "It's a metaphor."

"A Metaphor? Of what?"

I gesture vaguely, to the two of us. "Er, you know, how... guys give girls flowers in these things?"

"So I'm a girl? Is this a dig on my long hair?" Corrin narrows his eyes. "I was sort of appreciating the surprise, Trey... at first. But now..."

I panick. "I-I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then what did you mean?" Corrin huff, and he was going back to being annoyed with me. "Trey, if you're just gonna upset me further..."

I take his hands. "I just meant—guys usually give girls flowers on dates... If they did, you know, like girls." I was about to look away but then decided that it wouldn't make me sound sincere. So I faced Corrin head on. "That's the metaphor. I don't like girls that way... Well, not anymore... And since I'm giving it to a guy... Well, you..." I swallow thickly, waiting for a reply. All I was getting was a confused expression from Corrin as it was slowly sinking in.

Then, his eyes widens in realization.

"You're... gay?"

I wish the Earth could swallow me whole. "Er, or bi, since I did use to like this one girl...But I haven't really been seeing girls that way in a while, so..." I shrug weakly, checking to see that Corrin still looked surprise. "Please don't hate me..."

"Hate you? God, no, Trey." Corrin suddenly takes me into his arms. "I could never hate you. Lori was right, you are a brave leader. I have no idea how long you've kept this to yourself."

Well, that wasn't technically right. Lori knew about it. But I felt like this wasn't the time to mention that, especially since this hug felt better than the first. Maybe it was because I was also hugging back.

"Wait a minute—" Corrin suddenly pulls back. "So... We're on a date now?"

I'm sure I was really red by this time. "Er... I... Maybe..." I stammer. "Um, if you want it to be... Or not... If you don't like guys... that way..."

"Trey, it was a yes or no question." Corrin cuts in. I look at him and saw a smile. "Besides, I'm actually gay."

I widen my eyes. "You are?!"

"Well, I didn't expect the surprise. I thought it was obvious." Corrin chuckles nervously, fiddling with his ponytail. "But I guess... I'm relieved to know that I hid it well."

I smile a bit, "Oh... Heh... So, uh, how'd you figure it out?"

"I've actually always known. Maybe it's because of Lexie," Corrin shrugs. "I mean, she talks a lot about guys she likes." He suddenly snorts. "Let me ask you, can you describe Rhys's hair?"

I blink, not expecting the question. "Uh, well, it always looked kinda bronze in color to me."

"Yeah, well, if you asked her opinion, she'd give you a full description, including curves and length." Corrin rolls his eyes. "But it's a little silly because she keeps falling after another guy after a while."

I blink. "So... she doesn't like Rhys?"

"Yes and no, it depends. She goes by feeling, but so far, she enjoys how Rhys looks most. In my opinion, I don't think it's true love." He shrug. "Well, anyway, because of that, I've come to appreciate males more than females. Like I said, I didn't go out much often before."

I nod, before smiling at him. "Well, I'm glad you told me. It's nice to know that you feel the same—Uh!" I back track, "That is to say, about guys and that we share that feeling—No, what I mean is, not that we necessarily have feelings, you know, for each other and—but that wouldn't be a bad thing, not at all, I mean, you're hot and all so I kinda like—wait, what I'm trying to say is—!"

"Trey!" Corrin covers my mouth, trying not to laugh, but his cheeks are red. "you don't have to be so defensive. It's just me, you don't have to worry about me judging you." He assur me.

I rub the back of my head. "That's kinda the thing, though. I mean, yeah, it's just you, but at the same, it isn't  _just you_ , you know what I mean?"

"Vaguely," Corrin says with a slight frown. "I mean, I can only be one of those... Whatever  _those_  are, anyway."

I sigh, messing up my hair. "I'm sorry, but I'm not really sure what it is I want to say. No, that's not right either. I know  _what_ I wanna say, but I have no idea  _how_ to say it. Properly, at least."

"Just take a breath, think about it and say it." Corrin assures me, taking my hands. "It doesn't have to be proper, or perfect. It can be  _Meeko-running-his-mouth_  stupid, but as long as you can get it out, I'll get it. It's bad for your health to keep things bottled up, too."

I smirk a bit. "What is it with you and health, Core?"

"Well, it's just my job, after all." Corrin chuckles. "But aside from that, I don't want you worrying over things on your own. If I can help in any way, please tell me how."

Man, I really want to kiss him right now. "Can I... Can I do something really gay now?"

"That kinda depends," Corrin raises a brow, "what did you have in mind?" I didn't reply, only pulling away one of hands from his to reach higher and thumb over his bottom lip. His eyes widens, cheeks flushed. "T-Trey? What are you—?"

I lean in closer. "Shh, just trust me—"

"I—I always trusts you Trey..."

I took that as permission to close in.

"Dinner for two—Oh." Thomas suddenly calls. I yelp, jumping away from Corrin, who looked confused for a moment before his eyes zeroes in on Thomas. "Did I come in a bad time?"

Corrin gives him a death glare, and while I was upset as well, I block his view. "Core, don't."

"Yeah? Give me one good reason." The healer scowls. "your best friend is really starting to get on my nerves, Trey."

Well, am I really to blame him for feeling annoyed? "He's not as exposed to radiation yet. Unlike Meeko, it might mess up with him more. It might be more difficult for you to heal his broken bones." I glare at my friend. "Even if he does deserve to have, you know, broken bones."

"Er, I've got a feeling the broken bones was literal." Thomas at least look a bit apologetic. Coming over, I see the two plates he has brought. Mostly a minced fruit dish with strips of beef outlining the sides, simple but the presentation makes it seem more appealing. "Uh... Peace offering, man?" He holds it up to Corrin.

My Slate-haired crush takes a plate, still glaring at the blond. He tries a beef strip with a cherry. He moaned in delight and that really did something to my nethers. "God, that's just... Okay, fine, forgiven. But only if you're on permanent kitchen duty." He says. 

"No complains there, Matron," Thomas laughs, though he immediately swallows at the disapproving look. I try not to snicker, lest I'd be given it too. "Still, can't say I'm too sorry for the interruption. You don't get entertainment like this Underground."

I scowl, ready to give him a piece of my mind. But then, Corrin makes a strangled gasp, and that got my attention more. I frown, facing him. "Core?"

"Trey, I forgot." He grasps my arm. "that thing I needed to tell you. Something Cody told me."

The urgency in his tone tells that this  _sort of_ date was coming to an end. I frown. "What is it?"

"There are Underground people out there. I'm not sure what they're doing—but it's got something to do with Sean going back, and it's making Cody upset."

"Shit." Thomas whispers, dropping my plate and having the fruits scatter and fall down the train. "they're looking for us."

I look at him. "You think so?"

"Trey, we took off with their maintainer." He manages a dry smile. "I think it's fair to say they're after retribution."

I scowl. "Well, they're not getting you nor my sister." I tell him. We're going to need to know exactly what they're up to. I press my earpiece. "Leon? If you're nearby, come up the train. Eleventh carriage, near the medical bay."

It wasn't even ten minutes when Leon climbs up. "Trey? Is there trouble?"

"Unfortunately." I outline the situation and what I want him to do. "stay out of sight and listen, see if you can find out what they're after. I want to know how many of them there are, what their weapons are like—and you are not allowed to be caught."

Leon gives me a look. "That last part goes without saying."

"I suppose. Go ask Jonah to come with you," I suggests. "it'd be much faster to get the job—"

"No, I can go on my own." Without giving me a chance to reply, he floats back down.

I blink in surprise.  _Weren't those two always attached to the hip, though?_  I shake my head. I'll deal with that later. "Well, he won't be back till morning, I need to talk to Rhys by then."

Corrin and Thomas nodded, worry evident in their expressions.

**—O—**

"Are we going to evacuate again?" A child yawns.

I wouldn't wonder; it's too early for meetings. "I think it's likely. After all, they're bound to be after Thomas, Nina and Sean." I sigh. From what Thomas told me, they're likely to be in a lot of trouble.

"Then again, what's the worse they can do?" Thomas ask, trying to ease the tension. "when they see Nina's given up her suit, they'll leave her here. Me, too."

"Sean's still wearing a suit." Lindsay points out. Thomas was right, after all this years, she's only gotten prettier. But that's seems to be an objective opinion now. I don't feel the strange stir that I felt for her before, that I felt now for Corrin. Actually, by comparison, I feel for him more. "And Thomas, you're in the same boat as my father and I; Wanted offenders sentenced for the lethal injection."

Thomas makes a look. "Thanks for the grim reminder. Though, you were the one to—" He cuts off I clear my throat, getting things back on track.

"About Sean, if he doesn't want to stay then we have no right to force him." Rhys adds, eminently practical. "this is a decision he has to make himself."

Lexie nods. "We should give him time." She said. "so no one should interrupt him or interrogate the guy."

"Trey, have you considered the possibility that they may want more than to recover their people?" Rhys turns to me. "Lindsay and Doctor Roland has mentioned to me that they had apprehended Cody for the purpose of being a test subject."

Thomas curses. "That's right, I forgot. We may have endangered you all."

"Damn it," Mitchell grumbles, his arms around his brothers, who haven't fully woken up yet. "how did they even find us? The surface is a large place, there's no way they could've narrowed down our location so fast."

Jonah suddenly cries out, "LEON!" He rushes near the door, where Leon suddenly tumbles from, looking injured with some bruises. Corrin follows after to heal him. Thankfully, no open wounds were present, they seem mostly bruised. "what happened to you?!"

"Ngh... I... miscalculated." Leon winces, but then started breathing properly as the bruises start to heal. "I flew too much, lost energy flying all night to get there and back... Rhys, I'm gonna need more batteries."

Rhys politely holds back a frustrated expression, but his tone portrayed it anyway. "Top of my list, among others." He makes a look towards me and Meeko.

"You daft cow!" Jonah grumbles. "You should've taken me along, boundaries be damned!"

Leon chuckles weakly. "Sorry, I got careless."

"Not any sorry than I'll be if I lost you." And that's all the warning we got before Jonah outright kissed him.

I nearly stumble on myself, clearly not expecting such as display from Jonah, of all people. And something's telling me this action wasn't just because they came from another division. I look over to Lori and see that he's just as shock.  _Okay, how did we miss that?_

"D-dimwit!" Leon pushes him back, completely red in the face. "In front of everyone, too! Now they all know about us!"

I frown at that. "So?" I speak up, "Nothing's going to change if we know. You guys are still one of our most reliable scouts, and we've seen stranger things. We're definitely not going to judge you for liking each other."

Everyone breaks out of their shock and looks at me.

"If anyone objects, please keep your peace." Corrin continues. "we won't force you to share similar opinions of our leader, but regardless, we don't need any strife within the group. Just keep things civil, understood?"

Everyone nods, but so far I see no hostility in them. They seem generally accepting, or rather, uncaring. Seeing as we've seen crazier things, that made sense. Rhys coughs, clearing his throat. "For future reference, however, please keep future intimacy inside closed doors, Jonah. There are younger kids in the room."

Jonah looks embarrassed, as if he just realized what he's done. Leon was still scowling at him, but at the same time, he squeezed the other's shoulder to assure him.

"Besides, it was kinda pretty obvious." Bryce crosses his arms, "that kiss kinda just confirmed it." I stare at him, somewhat baffled.

_How come he noticed?_

Bryce saw me looking and rolls his eyes. "I roomed with them my first day here, remember? Come on, taking your place and questioning you isn't the only things I do."

Leon looks at me, slightly unsure. "Trey... You, yourself, really have nothing against this?" he doesn't look as troubled as earlier, since at least no one's flaming them, figuratively speaking. "I mean, as someone we really both respect and are indebted to..."

"Leon, we've been over this, I'm just a regular guy like you. And since I've taken in anyone who needed shelter, I had no reason to refuse you two back then." I smile at him. "Besides," I echoed the phrase Corrin used earlier. "I'm gay, too."

Everyone's back to being shock now. But for some reasons, me being gay seems more surprising than Leon and Jonah's coming out. At least, there are some, mostly girls, who look at me in disappointment, and I suddenly worry if it made them think less of me as a leader.

"Anyway, back to the matter at hand," Rhys immediately claps his hands, but I suddenly hear him in my head, //  _I'm going to assume your flustered and heated cheeks whenever Corrin was around weren't just the timing of your powers heating you up after all, then?_  //

I turn red. //  _Nothing gets passed you, huh?_  //

//  _Well, this had... Regardless, I admire your honesty for coming out. You have my support._  // I smile at that, relieved. While I never doubted Rhys, the fact that he was dull in everything related to emotions, I didn't have a clue what his opinion was of homosexuals. "Leon, what can you tell us about the hostiles?"

"They are armed," I can tell he was relieved that the subject has changed, because I'm certain he couldn't be relieved that our enemies were armed. "with guns similar to the ones Thomas has brought. And yes, they do want test subjects. But that's by the plan of collecting Thomas, Lindsay, and Doctor Roland. They mostly want Sean and Nina, but only if their suits are in tact. They don't know that there are more of us, or at least, their conversation implies that they don't. Regardless, they were able to trace our general location by following some sort of tracking device."

Rhys frowns. "Tracking device?" he repeats, as if to confirm. "but surely that's not right. I mean, for one, you'd need the capabilities of setting up something to give the signal, two, you'd need someone who wanted them to find us—"

"Which we have,"

Everyone looks at me as I spoke. They haven't seen it yet, but they didn't see Sean and Cody in Rhys's lab. I knew that wasn't right. Damn, this is a strike as worse as when I was too late to prevent Lori's injury.

"Excuse me," I say and walk out of the meeting.

Cody is awake, waiting for Sean to wake up. "Trey." He acknowledges dully. "He's still sleeping."

"We won't wake him up then. I suppose you know where the tracker is?"

Cody nods.

"Give it to me."

He very gently crawls over to Sean and retrieves the small, metal sphere. "What's going to happen?"

"We're going have to wait and see. We've never had to face anything like this. Leon said they have guns. Even our powers might not to do us good against if they shoot us first—" I frown at the thought. "And I don't think it will be a good idea to let them know we have them, or they might start experiments." I shake my head. "You do know you should have told us, kiddo."

"I'm sorry, Trey," Cody sniffles, and I do my best to stand my ground, even as I am as weak to his tears as Corrin is.... Correction, almost as much as he is. "I didn't think it would be so bad."

I sigh. "Well, what's done is done. This... This has just better work, so let's hope for the best."

I was about to ruffle his hair, but remember he's basically, in a term, grounded. I shouldn't be giving him affection... _Ugh, I'm sounding like a dad_. Maybe Lexie was on to something all those years ago. I stand back, pretending that Cody's disappointment of me holding back to console him like usual didn't faze me, before heading back out and to the meeting room.

"This is what they've been following." I hold up the device.

Thomas glowers. "I'm going to kill Sean..." he makes to leave. "the little..."

"Thomas, no." I call back, in a stern tone. Thomas looks back, shock. I don't normally call him by his full name, so I knew that would help in getting his attention. "you'll do no such thing. Cody's with him." I turn back to Leon and Jonah. "Do you think you guys can do us a favor and find some nice, mutant creature we can stick this on to throw them off track? Just to give us time enough to pack up and leave."

The kids groan. "Again." I can't blame them for complaining. Evacuating is annoying a hassle enough, doing another in a short time period is enough to frustrate even those of us who's been up here longer.

"I'll do it," Kiriho says, taking the device before Leon could. "How do you all feel about a very fast mutant sheep?"


	33. Part 03.3 THOMAS

**::THOMAS::**

I really want to do something—like strangle a certain blue-haired energy source. I can now, because Trey's busy talking to some of the others about getting rid of that tracking device. So I wait until he's really distracted, and then sneaked out the door.

Trey doesn't notice.

I don't actually want to strangle Sean. I mean, sure, I'd  _like_ to. Since day one, in fact. But it'd be stupid, considering we've been trying to save the ingrate's life all this time. I just want to make him realize how serious this is. He's put everyone here in danger, and I want him to know just that. I want him to feel sorry for causing all this trouble. He needs to learn that there are more important things in the world than just what he wants.

I opened the door. "Hi Thomas," Cody said, making an attempt to be happy. "Be quiet. Sean's sleeping. He slept really late last night."

I shake my head. "I want to talk to him, he can sleep later."

"But—"

I cut him off, "You knew about the tracker, didn't you?"

"Yeah..." There's a guilty look on his face.

"So why didn't you say anything? You know what they're like! You were a prisoner there." I try not to explode since Cody's got that innocent look that makes me guilty to be so mad at him. "Did you ever stop to think about what might happen if they found us? You've put your friends in danger, yourself. Didn't you think about it? We could all die, people you love, like Corrin and Trey."

Cody cringes back, near tears. Maybe I've been to harsh. But no one else is gonna do it, because let's face it they're all soft on him up here, and yes, I'm hoping Corrin doesn't found out or else I'm expecting a few broken bones. Someone has to tell him off, though. He's still a child, and sometimes children needs to be scolded. Even Cody, no matter how sweet a kid he is. Trey won't, at least, not properly. He and Corrin are way too soft-hearted, it's a miracle the kid isn't spoiled rotten.

"I only wanted Sean to like me..."

"That's not a good excuse to endanger lives, kid."

"Yeah, I know." Cody wipes a tear. I couldn't resist the urge to wipe the rest off, but I did resist taking his pacifier to place it in his mouth, though. Maybe it'd amuse him enough to stop crying, but the situation's too serious for that. "But I can't let him down. He trusts me now..."

"Is that more important than lives?"

"No. But more important than living up here."

I don't have a reply for that. He's caught me totally off-guard, and I can't even think to answer him. The meaning behind those words... "Cody, you're not saying—"

"He's lonely, Thomas. I—I don't want him to be lonely..."

"Cody?" A murmur from Sean catches my attention, and I decide that what Cody said can be thought on later. "I'm still too sleepy to wake up for us to play—"

I face him. "You're not sleeping again until you and I have a talk."

Sean opens his eyes and frowns at me. "What could you possibly want that couldn't wait until later?" There's a hint of old irritation in his voice, probably because he's still drowsy.

"Oh, I don't know." My voice is sarcastic, "Maybe I'd say something like ' _You've put an entire population of kids in danger for your own selfish wishes_ ' but maybe I can just simply that to ' _What the fucking hell were you thinking idiot?_ '" He stares at me. "If you were even thinking, that is. Enabling a tracker." I growl furiously. "Did you ever stop to think beyond your misery, and about what might happen to the people up here if they came to collect you?"

"Nothing would happen to them," Sean scoffs, glancing at Cody as if to accuse him. "Why would they care about anyone up here? They're just coming to rescue me. And you told him, didn't you?" He glares at Cody. "I thought you promised me..."

"He didn't tell me; this came from somewhere else." All right, so that's half a lie. Cody told Corrin and Corrin told us, but the sad look on those blue eyes was enough to make me come to his defense. "It doesn't matter how we found out. We're all in danger because of you!"

"What danger?" Sean demands, eyes flashing as he turns to face me. "they just need me back. You can stop handing me those foolish stories about trying to save my life—"

"I saw the records! Do you think I'd antagonize our government enough to make that up? And if you haven't noticed, we hated each other from the very beginning." I grouse, finally getting out all my frustrations regarding the guy, "I may not like you but I don't want anyone dying on my account. I wouldn't be going through the trouble and risk my own life to preserve your own for no reason at all." I glare at him. "this isn't about that though. It's about the fact that there are men out there armed with guns, who wants to take back you and Nina, while hoping to collect the rest of us for tests."

Sean looks taken aback, then his eyes narrow. "How could you know—"

"Trey sent out a scout. He reported to us just recently," I retort, still fixing him with a cold gaze. "they do pose threat, whether you believe it or not. I'm not forcing you to come with us anymore. Lindsay may be concerned for your miserable life, but I'm not. If you want to go back and live for one more year, that's your choice. If they find you, good riddance!"

The speech may be a result of anger more than anything and I'll probably regret it later on, but I don't care at the moment. I'm furious. The only thing that keeping me from smacking the shock expression right off Sean's face is the fact that Cody started crying and clutches the boy's arm tightly.

"I don't want you to die!" He says, voice choked. "please don't go back!"

Sean stares at him, for a moment, I'm completely forgotten. "I won't die." He says firmly. But there's less certainty in his voice. "I have to go back. He doesn't know the facts. Lindsay was a liar. She was a first-rate tech; she knew how to make fake documents, I'm sure. I'm in no danger whatsoever."

"You don't really believe that. Lindsay would have no reason to get rid of you." I roll my eyes, having heard enough of his own disdain for Lindsay, especially considering the lengths she's gone through for him. "In fact, she would've needed you to stay at the time. You were helping in feeding the people below and keeping them alive. But they'll find another solution. She was concerned for you, and I'm beginning to think you don't deserve it."

Sean scowls and turns away from me, but I notice his eyes softening as they fall on Cody. My arguments aren't affecting him as much as the bluebird's obvious distress is.

"There you are—" Trey walks in through the doorway with Kytes and Lexie. He looks at Cody crying and narrow his eyes at me as if in accusation. He sighs, and turned to the two, "No one tells Corrin."

Kytes and Lexie nods dutifully, as if it's an official order. It probably is.

"What's happening?" I ask.

"Kiriho planted the tracker on a mutant sheep, with Lee's help." Lexie tells me.

Kytes nods. "They'll catch up with it in a day or two with their vehicles, and then they'll head back this way. We'll have to move as again"

"So we move, then? Will they be able to find us?"

"I'm not sure, Tom." Trey lets out a breath. "I'd say probably not, but I don't know what kind of equipment they have. We know the surface better than they do, and if we have to, we'll fight them off. I don't want to have to—" There's heavy reluctance in his voice, but I understood the awful necessity. "I've got more than hundred lives depending on me—I'll do what I have to, though."

I nod. "We're with you all the way, Trey."

"Thanks," Trey faces me, then looks at Sean. "I can't be responsible for your safety if you don't want my protection. I won't have anyone in this group if they don't want to be here. This isn't some kind of roving prison, you know. Either stay here and wait for them to come get you or come with us, it's up to you. But I'm not leaving anyone behind to help you." Cody doesn't seem happy with that. "I won't trust anyone from the underground if I can help it. They've killed before—I saw it myself. If they'd kill a ten year old for panicking about being sent up to the surface, you can be sure they'd kill someone older for a more serious reason."

"A ten year old?" I'm shock, it's the first I heard this story. Then again, should I really be surprise still?

Sean's staring at Trey, his eyes uncharacteristically wide. I'm not sure if it's my imagination, but it looks like he's trembling slightly.

"I was there, too." Kytes whispers. "Trey didn't let me see it, but I heard the shot. And when we turned back, he was just lying there. It doesn't seem as horrible now that we've seen scarier things, but back then..." He shakes his head.

I nod. "I believe it." Especially having seen evidence for more atrocious acts that those people inflicted on people. One of the strongest pieces of evidence is sitting on the bed right now, eyes wide.

"We're leaving sunset tomorrow." Trey adds. "I have to get word to the rest of the people in this place, and things have to be organized." He looks at Sean again. "If you want to come with us, make sure to figure it out by then. Because no one's going to wait for you."

Sean doesn't say a word, as Trey leaves the room. "I'll go too, see you bro." Kytes nods at me before heading out after Trey.

"Come on, blondie." Lexie beckons to me. "Let's go find something for you to do."

I nod, since I got nothing more to say to Sean. What he has to do now, he'll need to figure it out on his own.


	34. Part 03.4 SEAN

**::SEAN::**

There are times when I could almost let my emotions get the better of me, and hate Thomas. This is one of them. Everything was bad enough, and then he comes along and now I don't know what to think anymore. It's all I can do to make sense of Trey's words.

_Either stay here and wait for them to come get you or come with us_

_But I don't know what to do!_

A choking sound comes from beside of me, Cody is wiping away his tears. I'm glad he's stopped crying, I didn't know what to do when he started.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, a little upset is all. I've let everyone down." Cody sniffles. "you?"

"I don't know, I've never had to make a decision like this before—"

 _Why am I even reconsidering it?_ Staying here is asking me to stop believing in everything I live by—and yet—I can't tear myself from how much I'd hurt Cody if I did leave. And I'm still shaken up. What they said before—the kid, killed—I don't want to believe them. But Cody wouldn't lie to me or let anyone else lie, that I'm sure of. So when he didn't make a protest...

He's the only one that cares. Trey doesn't care so much, so long as I don't endanger anyone else. Thomas doesn't like me, so—

"Sean, do you still want to sleep?"

I shake my head. I didn't think it was possible, even if I wanted to. "No, you can do anything you want with me now."

"Okay!" He takes my hand and pulls me off the bed. "Let me show how we live up here, and later, I've got a place to show you later that you might like."

As Cody shows me around and explains things to me, I realize these people aren't as savage as I first thought. They have a system, and while different from below, it was practical and organized. They have different duties assigned to appointed individuals. It wasn't fixed, there is a rotation and, as Cody would put it, they all take turns.

Sentry, similar to our Surface guards, keep watch outs. The shifts changed for morning, noon, and night. There were also Scouting duties, and while Cody tells me that they also take turns there, some of them are consistently scouts, in the sense that they were well-adept and efficient in the task. Thomas's brother, Kytes, seems to specialize there, as well as the guides of Lindsay and her company. Then there were gatherers, with two categories below it. Hunters, obviously, hunt their meat supply by killing non-polluted animals. Scavengers explore new areas and other ones for materials they need for Rhys to use in his innovations.

There are fixed jobs, as well. Since Cody tells me, and I don't have trouble believing it, Rhys is the most intelligent person there is up here, he has a special unit called Rhys's Corps where they craft weapons and develop devices such as the Med watch to help in survival. Aside from him, Corrin is obviously in charge of medical issues, with Jenny assisting him for especially painful treatments, since her ability was to numb the sensations. Whoever was available and not clumsy could help out. Again, this was through appointment.

His sister, Lexie, is their head tailor. She measures the girls annually and Lori, the one who is currently residing in the medical bay, measures the boys. But Lexie does the designing, as Lori is something of ' _Jack of all Trades_ ' and is wherever help is sorely needed, though he does excel in kitchen duty as he's the one showing newbies where things are and how rationing works. Lexie and other selected individuals sew their garments whenever needed and, given enough time and resources, are able to come up with new clothing options for current and future users.

Kitchen duty, as the term suggests, goes by rotation too. But Cody tells me Thomas might be a permanent, and will be supervised under Lori until given independence. It makes sense, he was a talented cook... That's a fact, I'm not complimenting him.

Aside from these jobs, they also have a way of organizing their bases. Once they find new ones, they always check if they have areas for specified uses. There should be a Command room or Lobby to hold meetings led by Genesis batch. Of course, sleeping quarters go without saying. Space of each according to need. The Mess hall, an area designated to eat cooked food. Usually near the kitchen. There's always assigned distributors to make sure no one takes more food than they need. The Infirmary or Medical bay is almost always Corrin's sleeping quarters as well, since he does need to be in there most of the time. But if there are no patients, he shares a room with his sister. The training hall is where they train for survival. Newbies has to go through a training menu and obtain approval from Trey, the newbie's batch leader if the newbie isn't a leader themselves, and a relative, if applicable before they can start outdoor excursions.

All in all, I was impressed. These Surface people are more thorough than I initially thought.

As we go through the base, I catch snatches of conversations and realize they're wondering about the Underground team. Cody pulls me along when I speak up.

"What's happening?"

"We've got a couple of scouts spying them. Kiriho and Lee stuck the tracker on a sheep and they seem to have gone off to find it. It won't take long till they catch up with it though. They have these big machines. Leon said it's noisy that they're going to attract everything hungry in an eight mile radius."

I tune Cody out. They have transport, which explains how they got here so quickly. They're likely to better protected, and have more weapons and equipment than Thomas brought. So mutant creatures won't be that much of a problem if they're quick to intercept them. I really had caused a lot of trouble—

"Here we go," Cody pulls me inside a compartment. "guess who sleeps here."

The carriage is as big as that of Trey's which Thomas, Nina, and I shared until late. However it has only about a third of that space free. The rest is crammed with mechanical objects of every kind. I step forward, trying to take it in at once.

"Wow."

"I thought you'd like it," Cody sounds satisfied. "I'll have to thank Rhys for letting us come in here—"

"Thank me now." Rhys emerges from a corner with some kind of motor, along with his constant redhead companion. "Hello Cody, Sean, having a look around?" Rhys's red eyes fasten seriously on me. "I do hope you're not going to borrow my tools without asking again."

I hang my head. Of course, Trey would have told him. It's a shame, of all the other dwellers, I think he was one I actually could get along with.

"However," Rhys clears his throat. "if I ever get the chance, I'm going to insist you show me how you did whatever to the tracker. I've been trying to put one together for ages. Meeko's been helping," he smirks at the red head, "By making sure I don't die by forgetting to eat, but a little more technical help could better assist me."

That makes me look up, intrigued. "Why would you be trying to build trackers?"

"He thought we could make some sort of tracking system. Attach it to mutant creatures, tell us where most of them are so we can avoid them." Meeko explains. "you're gonna need to make our communication link withstand long distance, though, for you to inform us during hunts."

Rhys sighs. "One at the time, I still have to get you new batteries." He turns back to me, and I'm surprise to feel pleased that he doesn't seem upset any longer for my previous offense. "Of course, the ideal solution would be to find some way of picking up excess radiation signatures and base a tracking system on that..."

"I have just the thing for you," I turn towards the door.

"The radiation measuring thing that talks, right?" Cody scrambles past me. "I'll get it!"

Rhys and Meeko chuckles at my bemused expression.

"Ever the active child," Rhys comments, before re-examining his motor thing. "Meeko, get me that electric Taser. I need to borrow a part from it."

"Gotcha. I'll be in the back." Meeko leaves, going back to where the two might've been previously.

It was silent for a moment, till Rhys addresses me. "Cody is a good kid. And he's really fond of you."

"He wants me to stay." I tell him, not quite sure why.

Red eyes look at me thoughtfully. It was a bit intimidating, but at least he wasn't glaring at me. If Thomas had eyes like those— "And admittedly, so do I. I would really much appreciate your help in my projects," He states. "But the important thing to consider is this, what do you think about staying?"

Meeko calls from the back. "Rhys! You're Taser isn't anywhere in the toolboxes here, I'll check the other toolboxes in your tool room!" He went out the same door Cody went out to.

 _He has another room for himself?_ And a tool room-isn't this room filled with enough of them? "I don't know." I answer Rhys's question.

"You don't have long to make a decision," Rhys reminds me. "I hope you make the right choice."

"Rhys—" I pause, unsure how to ask what I want to. "if you could go back, to the Underground, would you?"

"I assume you mean not as a test subject," Rhys places the motor aside and thinks carefully. "I'm not sure. I've never considered the matter—It was not a possibility. So I concentrated on the things that had more immediate value, such as my friends, staying alive, protecting each other. And yet, if I could go back... I'd have to say I don't think so."

"Why not?" I frown. "you'd have running computers, power sources, proper tools—even safety."

"I no longer believe that there is safety underground. I'm content here, the life may not be easy but I find it immensely rewarding. We may have to struggle harder for survival than the people in the cities, but we make our own decisions, and we stick together." Rhys tells me. "There's also the relationships I've made. If my going back to the city means I had to leave Meeko and all my other friends—I wouldn't."

"You'd stay... for them?"

Out of all the people I'd met since being dragged out of my machine, Rhys was the one I think I most understood. He was like me in some ways—he thought along the same lines. If he was willing to choose emotion over logic...

"Isn't that irrational? By the way you talk, and how refine and precise you choose your words, you seem to have come from a well-to-do family. Don't you miss the comfortable life?"

"True. I did have that for a while. My... dad"—why the pause?—"was a scientist and he earned well. But I wouldn't go back. My friends now... they make life worth living up here."

I take a seat opposite to him, idly picking up one of the pieces of machinery beside me. "I don't understand..."

"It's hard to explain. You just have to decide what you want out of life."

"What did you decide?"

Rhys does a very surprising thing. He sticks his tongue out at me, which I believe wasn't something I'd consider rather out of character, for him. "I'm not telling. While I appreciate the inquisitive minds on occasion, I rather you don't pry too much. We respect secrets up here." He smirks. "you'll have to make your own decision. If you want my advice, gather as much data as you can before you make a final decision."

"Hey!"

Cody and Meeko comes running in at once and bumps into each other.

"Ouch!"

Rhys looks at them, trying not to laugh, while I give them a look of confusion. They both stood up and gave us the items they retrieved. Rhys looks at the meter on my hand. "How does it work?" He holds a hand out to the device.

I explained, finding Rhys makes a very good audience. Cody is almost as good. Meeko... No comment. They're just listening. Rhys shows me some machines he's been working on with Meeko—who does most manual labor, along with his clones—then leads us outside to show the water supply and garden. Both constructed under his supervision. Cody said he had helped too, and points out where. I am suitably impressed. When Trey joins us later, I find myself biting back a disappointed exclamation.

"I hate to interrupt the tour," he says with a smile, "But we need Rhys to help us."

"Uh oh," Meeko asks. "there isn't a problem with the evacuation is there?"

"No, Kytes had one of his trademark ideas, and we need Rhys to tell us if it's feasible."

"So what did Kyi come up with?"

"He thinks that we can use the suits to fake the deaths of those who wore one. To get the Underground of our backs permanently."

Trey looks really happy—I think he was very worried about this.

"It's a distinct possibility." Rhys muses. "I'll join you immediately."

"Fake dead bodies? Sounds disgusting... I'm in!" Meeko follows after Rhys.

"Trey?" I say quickly before he leaves. "just so you know, if I do decide to go back, I won't tell them Nina and the others aren't actually dead. And I won't tell them about you guys or your bases either... I don't want to cause trouble again."

I've only apologized once, to Cody. And I'm still not sure how to do it. From the look Trey gives me, I think he knows what I'm trying to say. "That's good to know Sean," He smiles. "I appreciate the thought. I hope you think about it well."

Cody throws his arms around my waist as the older boys leave. "Come on Sean, let's play over there by the garden. No one will mind! Kytes can make a bunch more plants to hide any mess we make."

I decide to humor him.

We played games with odd titles; tag, hide and seek, and others till we accidentally rolled down a hill, and Cody's laughing and I realize when I couldn't get back up that he drained every energy I had. I watch the rive, wondering if this is what Rhys meant by gathering data. And what was it Thomas said? That there were things about the surface I couldn't feel with the suit?

"Cody, you're not using your powers now, are you?"

"No," He's obviously confused by the question. "why would I? There's no need-"

"Just checking." I tell him, gingerly fumbling with the zipper of the hood of my suit.

He stares at me. "What are you doing?"

"Gathering information," I pull the hood off, sniffing the air.

Cody leans forward, curious. "Can, can I—?"

"What?"

"Can I touch your hair? That is, if you don't mind, and if it's okay with you and all—"

He's only twenty-two without his powers. "Sure,"

"And I'd try my best not to mess it up—" Cody stops mid-sentence. "Really?!"

I nod.

"Cool!" He reaches out carefully, tugging gently. "I knew it, like silk!"

I don't understand how that was important, but I'm pleased with his positive reaction enough to smile. He's playing with it now, and I feel so relaxed and at ease, the fact that Cody was with me seemed to make my troubles go away...

"Sean? Does this mean... you're staying?"

But apparently, not forever.


	35. Part 04.1 CODY

**PART 04  
**

**::CODY::**

I watch Sean exhale one more time and, sadly, pulled his hood back on.

"I still have to think, I can't promise."

I frown. "Okay." I feel like he's shutting himself away from me again and it hurts, but I keep saying in my mind that if he stays, it's all gonna be fine. "But you'll think of staying?"

"I guess so," He answers distantly. "I'm still not sure."

Same answer as before. "Why do you want to go back?" I've repeated this question a million times over in different ways, but he still hasn't given me a real answer. I want to know.

Sean shrugs. "It's where I belong."

"It doesn't have to be," I tell him eagerly. "you could belong here. I could tell that Rhys liked you. You two got along, and you could help him make stuff for us. I think you'd really like it."

Sean sighs. "It doesn't work like that, Cody."

"Why not?" I insist. "it can if you want it to. People are always telling me you can't do things a certain way, but I try to prove them wrong sometimes. You won't know till you try."

"It isn't that simple, in this case." Sean points out. "I can't just experiment briefly and then go back. I can't change my mind later on."

"But you'd be happy here, Sean. I know you would. You can help Rhys build machines, make friends, play when you have energy..." I list.

"Maybe." He looks unsure.

"You don't have to figure it out right now." I say. "But when you have to make up your mind, think about that okay? It'd be much more fun up here than it would be down there. I don't think I'll like living there much if you choose that."

Sean turns to face me completely, and the look on his face is pure shock. "Living there?" he repeats, as if he thinks that he didn't hear right.

"Yeah, I've decided I don't want you to be lonely." I say, now letting some of that determination in my voice. "so if you're going back, so am I!"

Sean stares at me, and he looks alarmed all of the sudden. "You can't go there!"

"Yes I can!"

"I won't allow it!" He snaps, eyes blazing. "not hardly! You aren't coming back with me, Cody. So don't even think that you are! That's ridiculous!"

"But Sean..." I can feel my eyes filling and blink. "I really want to be where you are. I really like you, Sean. You're fun to be with, I don't know why, but you make me real happy."

"Cody, I don't understand." Sean stares at me, confused.

"Me neither, but I feel like we shouldn't be separated..."

Suddenly, we're interrupted. "Cody! We need you to help block off the entrances, come on!" Bryce calls us.

"Coming!" I stand up. "I gotta go, you want to stay here or do you want to come?"

Sean follows me, "I'll come."

We climb back up the hill we rolled down on. I'm still upset. Why can't he be happy here? Why can't he realize he is happy here? It doesn't make sense. Only one thing does: Wherever we are, we're supposed to be together. Whether underground or up on the surface.

I know... I feel... It's the way it's suppose to be...

 


	36. Part 04.2 TREY

**::TREY::**

"No."

"But Trey—"

"No."

"But just think of the possibilities—"

"Rhys, he said no. Need more encouragement? I say no, too."

"Trey, Meeko, I fear you're being too hasty in your judgments of the situation. After all—"

"They've got guns, dude. Guns. No."

Our technology expert sighs. "I still think the potential usefulness of the vehicles outweighs the dangers—"

"And I think that I'm not going to let you go and get killed for a piece of metal, you're more important than that." Meeko cuts him off. "We've made it so far alive without them, anyway."

Rhys looks at me as if he thinks he has more chance of changing my mind.

I shake my head. "No. And that's final."

"... Fine." Rhys relents. "But mark my words, a time will come when we'll need them." He grouses.

I simply smirk, pulling on his goggles a bit and letting go, making him cry out when it snaps back in place. "At least you'll be there with an ' _I told you so,_ '." I say.

"I most certainly will," Rhys sighs, "now, was that really necessary?"

I wink, gesturing to our audience. The group watching visibly relaxes, and he sees my point. They hate it when we argue, and they know we don't need arguments, particularly in a time like this. Nina and Thomas are watching concerned from the sidelines. They aren't used to this.

"Is everything ready?" I ask the rest of the group, as Rhys and Meeko takes a step back to join Corrin and the rest of our batch, minus one.

"We just need to finish blocking off the entrances. We'll block the last one once we're leaving for real, Cody's not back yet—"

"I'm here!" Cody announces as he appears, Sean it tow.

I nod. "Great, we'll be leaving as soon as Jonah, Leon and the rest of the scouts get back. And one more thing," I duck into the crowd and pull Thomas and Mitchell up beside me. "Batch Eight's leader and Second-in-Command. Regardless, they're still new here. I know you've seen the rest of them already and figured they're staying. Just like with batch Seven's newbies, look out for them like you would any other. Be patient with them. Remember they don't have years of the surface life yet, so we're gonna have to train them. But for the mean time, they'll help in other stuff."

"Like what?"

The faintly skeptical question comes from the would-be Leader, Bryce. Dillan nudges him.

"Tom has already proven he's more than qualified to be a cook, and with some more ingredients we can make, he can bake things we haven't tasted in a while. Rhys is already having his assistants help him research how to make flour and other ingredients we need." I point out. "and given enough time, I'm sure both he and Mitchell will be able to face combat."

Corrin backs me up. "Doctor Roland, obviously, will be working with me, and he's knowledge on various treatments is more than helpful. But regardless of their current usefulness or maybe even lack of it, the point is we're going to watch out for them."

"Just like they've watched over us when we were new, Bryce." Dillan says pointedly.

"What about S—" Someone starts but is elbowed by another.

I look worriedly at Cody. From the tightness of his expression, they haven't resolved this yet. And they're running out of time.

"I need volunteers to scout ahead of us to the next base," I continue. "who's ready to leave now?"

I get some volunteers and make sure they're well-equipped before heading out.

"You're so organized." Nina comments as she stands beside me.

I see the Snowflake has taken a liking to her, as he's perched on her shoulder. I'm dreading it already as I wonder if this has anything to do with Kytes possibly liking her, as well.

"Believe me, when you've done this thousandths of times, you'll find there is nothing left to organize."

"It's ridiculous," A harsh voice interrupts. "if it wasn't even for few dead weights, we wouldn't even have to evacuate again so fast."

I pull back from Nina, whipping around to glare at Bryce, heat rising around my clenched fist. I have always been able to keep my patience with his inclination to question me, but I can't tolerate it when he involves my sister. A steadying hand is placed on my shoulder, Corrin pulls me back as Rhys interrupts.

"Bryce," He starts calmly. "may I remind you that a few years ago, you knew less about living here just like our newcomers. But you adapted, in time, as they will, with help from the rest of us."

"Besides, they know stuff we don't." Lori adds. "How do you think I got better?"

Corrin cuts in. "Hardly better, you're not allowed to stand too long yet. That said, Meeko, you're carrying him again."

There's a bit of a laughter and Lori makes a face but doesn't complain.

"But he's unfocused since they came, the dead weights aren't the only ones he should be worried ab—"

And a second later, a knife is thrown above Bryce's head. It hit a passing bird, and it fell on top of Dillan's head, who shakes it off indifferently. We gape, following the direction where the knife came from.

Thomas.

"Who's a deadweight?" He grin. "Give me some credit, I saw a rabid bear my second day up here and didn't die of a heart attack."

I snicker, leave it to Thomas to stop people from questioning his worth.

"There's also this thing called compassion, which we happened to believe in." Corrin interjects.

Dillan snorts, looking at his friend. "It's the only reason you haven't been kicked out years ago, pal. So don't push your luck, before your own batch impeaches you."

"Fine, I'm sorry." He pouts and turns away.

I have a feeling that's not the last we hear from him about replacing me.

The crowd diminishes.

//  _Thanks guys_  //

//  _You're welcome, Trey. Even if I were not your Second in Command, I'll always back you up._ //

//  _Genesis batch will always back you up_  //

I smile at Rhys and Corrin.

"What are you doing now?" Nina asks.

"Rhys, Meeko, Kytes and I are going to fake your deaths now."

"Want to come?" Kytes asks, smiling at my sister.

Nina looks back at him fondly. I make a face at that, especially when she went to stand beside him, Snowflake jumping on his head instead.

"How are we going to die?" Thomas asks as he follows us to the spot we've chosen.

"We decided, given that we planted the tracker on a mutant sheep, that we'd set it up as if you've been attacked by them. It's good we got some regular sheep to help there, we can use their wool." Rhys explains. "they're a lot dangerous than it sounds, especially since they travel in flocks."

Rhys and I dump some of the stuff Batch Eight has brought with them that they no longer need. Kytes drops some fleece here and there. We do our best not to over do it. Kytes set up some blankets and scattered little box things Thomas said were food to make it look as though they were resting when they were attacked.

"This is your last chance," Kytes says teasingly, holding up my sister's suit.

Nina chuckles, shaking her head. "Getting out of that thing was a wise decision, Kyi."

"Yeah, I agree." Kytes smiles softly.

I grumble. Thomas looked at me, then at them, and laughs. For him, this is amusing. He has it easy, he has a little brother, not a little sister.

"Yo Kytes, flirt later, we got work to do."

Kytes balks, "I wasn't flirting!"

"Back to work." I demand.

The suits are all scratched artistically by Meeko and we dumped dirt on to them, shredded fragments of Thomas's ruined shirt and trousers plus Nina's shredded dress went the same way. They were now pretty much dressed up like as, Thomas wearing something from Corrin's garments, and I really tried not to protest and complain about that. Nina is wearing one of Lexie's old outfits.

They turned serious as they see the contents of a particular sack.

"Hand me the other sack, Trey." Rhys says and I give it to him.

"Tell me they're not—" Thomas trails off.

"Human?" I ask softly. "Sorry, the first year up and we weren't as organized or prepared, a lot of kids died. We were the lucky ones."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind," Meeko offers quietly. "we did give them a proper burial."

Well, of what's left of them.

We walked back to the base in silence. I really hope this works, I don't want to risk losing Nina and Thomas after all these years. And it's either they use Thomas as an example or for experiments, neither sounds good.

Suddenly, Sean was beside me. I nearly jump out of my skin. "Trey, can I talk to you?"

"Uh, yeah," I nod, gesturing for the others to continue. "what's up?"

Sean looks a little unsure before he started. "Well, two things... I wanted to ask about before. When Bryce challenged your leadership."

"Happens all the time," I shrug "it's no big deal. People are allowed to disagree with me. Rhys and the others are always ready to point out when I'm overlooking something."

"But he raises a point. If I were to go with you, I'd have to learn to live like you." Sean pauses. "what is that like?"

"We're always moving," I tell him. "you've probably figured that out. We've got three sources of food, our gardens, our animals, and the surface creatures that we hunt. Primitive, savage, but it keeps us filled. Better than they way around. We usually have a limit, we don't hunt everyday, or we might risk endangered species and its extinction then we'll have nothing left to eat, so we've got our gardens as back up for that."

Sean nod. "What sort of animals do you hunt?"

"Anything non-polluted, by either radiation or Mana residue. Rhys has this device to check thoroughly. We can never be too sure, even if they are regulars. Kiriho can tell us, too, if it's pure or not. She's just as accurate as the device. So if they both agree on its safety, then it's okay for consumption." I told him. "At our next base, we'll be eating a lot of fish. It's right by the sea, a boat that got wrecked and washed ashore."

"And the fish is safe?"

"Yeah. Apparently, the water forms aren't affected by the radiation. So they're mostly safe." I smile at him. "It'll be nice if you could see it for yourself."

"Sean!" Cody grabs his arm suddenly. "Come! Watch me use my powers!"

"Okay, don't pull too hard." Sean allows himself to be dragged.

"Hey Sean, what's that other thing?"

"Maybe later, Trey." Sean departs.

I went back to my duties. I've been waiting, after an hour, for Sean to appear. But he doesn't show up. I'm concerned cause that other thing might be important. But I can't go off finding him, since I've got things to do.

I smirked, I should probably consult his batch leader, then.


	37. Part 04.3 THOMAS

**::THOMAS::**

I didn't know I'd be put into leader duties immediately. I might've thought that this was just him getting back on me for the whole date thing, but I knew better than to question him. While Trey was still generally, well, Trey, he was leader now too and he had other more important priorities than the second thing Sean wanted to talk about. Not that I think the little sunshine-bearer will actually talk to me, but orders are orders.

Plus, I am still a newbie, so opposing the Head Leader, even if he was my best friend, isn't getting me street creds. Throwing knives to Trey-wannabes won't always work out.

"Tommy!" Kytes runs up to me—surprisingly, without Nina. He's little pet thing though was running beside him. "I was hoping I'd find you. I have a job for you, we're trying to make the train look abandoned so some of us are piling twigs and junk on top of the carriages. I'm in charge of growing vines and old roots over them. I thought you'd like a chance to help—it's better than sitting around, right? You'll be a big help, since your room was always messy before he headed down."

"Ha-Ha, not as much as yours." I scoff. "I'll join you guys in a bit, okay? Trey asked me to have a talk with Sean. So I'm going to get that over with first."

"Get it over with?" Kytes repeats, laughing. "you don't think much of him, do you?"

I shrug. "But if he decides to stay, I'll bet he'll grow on me eventually... Like a bad rash."

"Well, if he decides to stay, he'll probably become more and more like one of us," Kytes notes. "and less like an outsider. I think we'll all more or less come to accept him. Even Bryce will."

I snort. "Yeah, and pigs will fly." I joke, then realize that it could be a possible. "Do they..."

"Yes, we've seen a few. They make good bacon." Kytes says, and he didn't seem to be joking.

I wonder if I'll get a chance to cook them soon. "Well, I'll be back soon as I'm done to help out."

"Great, see you, bro."

I leave him and went to the room I know Cody was blocking stuff in. Because the kid's the last person I saw that was with him. And apparently, he was still with him along with an extra person.

"Now, those need to be stored in one of the—oh, hello Thomas." Rhys look up from where he's explaining what goes where to Cody. "was there something you wanted?"

I smile. "No, keep working." Sean is sitting in the corner of the room, watching the going-ons with apparent interest. "Hey Chuckles," I call, catching his eye. "there was something Trey wanted me to ask you. Care to chat where we won't be in the way of things?"

Sean surprises me by actually smiling at the name I gave him.

"All right." He agrees, rising up, placing a hand on Cody's head as he brushed past him. They share a warm look, and I'm stupefied once more. He went toward me and we stepped out of the cart. "what was it you wanted to see me about, Thomas?" Sean speaks in a polite tone. POLITE.

I realize that I'm seeing the deferential Sean that had diligently served as the central core of the machine without complaint. It feels odd. Very contrasting to the rude brat I dragged across the surface. I feel a brief surge of appreciation—he's now trying to understand a confusing new world under extreme pressure. It's the first time I've been able to talk to him and feel something other than irritation.

I was proud.

"Trey's wondering about the second thing you were supposed to ask about."

"I'm not sure Cody would like me sharing it, I had second thoughts sharing it to Trey."

I raise a brow. That was a bit concerning. "You used to hate Cody." I remind him.

"I know." Sean half smiles. "I grew attached to him somehow. He's quite... persistent in getting me to like him."

I laugh. "It's going to get him in trouble someday that he can't leave you alone."

"Yes, it will." Sean agrees, very quietly. "I can tell you that for certain."

I frown. "Why? Has he done something?"

"No, not yet..." Sean hesitates. "I feel I should tell somebody, but I'm not sure it should be Trey anymore. I have a suspicion he'd not take it well. It could cause Cody some pain. I think I'll tell you, if you wish. Then you can see that it is passed on if necessary. Does that sound agreeable?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess." I keep myself from smiling. He's trying—is it his fault that he talks like a computer? I hardly think so. "All right, I'll listen to what you have to say." I'm getting a sense of Déjà vu... _How many times have I been listening to people's issues this week alone?_

Sean nods. "You are aware that I may be taken back this evening if I choose to be," he says, then glances at me for confirmation. When he gets an affirmation, he continues. "Well, Cody is less than pleased. Which I'm certain you are also aware of, you saw him cry, after all." I wince at that. I'm glad he didn't implicate that I was the cause, though in a way, I was. "However, he has made a promise that alarms me. His intention is to go where I go—so in the event that I choose to return, he wants to come along. But I'm not sure..." He stops, seemingly in a lost for words.

"I see..."

I have to think this through for a moment. Cody's planning to—yes, that could be a problem, and I think I could predict Trey's reaction. But what I'm mostly apprehensive about is Corrin's reaction. If they were the kid's actual parents, then he'd be the pampering mother. Then there's still everyone up here who likes the little bluebird to think about...

And yet, Cody seems to like Sean more than enough to follow him.

"That's not good." I conclude.

Sean sighs. "I don't think so either. I can't see Cody adapting well to life underground, especially if it won't be much of a life. You know, as an experiment."

"No," I shudder, the little bluebird didn't deserve that. "But I don't think we can tell Trey. He'd flip."

"I thought so." Sean nods. "I won't say anything. That was what I was going to talk to him about, though. I thought maybe Trey would hold Cody down or knock him out, or..." He trails off. "I don't know what. Something that would keep him from following me."

I grimace. "Sounds to me like you've already decided to go back."

"No," Sean shakes his head. "I am merely considering all options. I don't know yet. It's not easy, you understand."

I shrug. "Sure, not well. But I have an idea. I'm sorry for being so hard on you through this whole thing. None of it was especially easy for me, either."

"I understand. You're right, we've both been through a lot." He smiles... again. _Cody, what did you do?_ He's a miracle worker. "If I'm going back, we can at least part with no hard feelings between us. If I do leave, I might even miss you at some point—only briefly, but I'm sure you understand." He smiles... No, it's a smirk.

I balk _. Did he just make a joke?_ I couldn't help but grin, proudly.  _Damn bastard's gone so far..._ "Oh sure, I'm probably going to have trouble dealing with the loss of your charming presence." I joke. "I'll leave you to—whatever it was you were doing before. Good luck with that decision, I hope you make the right choice."

"Me, too." Sean agrees, before heading back to where Cody and Rhys were.

I walk away, feeling better for some reasons and unable to explain why. Well, time to head back to Kyi.

**—O—**

I'm mildly surprised to see Trey. He should be somewhere else. "Hey dude."

"Hey Tom," Trey acknowledges me. "did you talk to Sean? Or did you simply strangle him?"

"Ha-ha, amazingly, no. I managed to keep my the strangling to a minimum." Considering there wasn't even any.

Trey nods. "Well, what did he want?"

"Er, yeah..." I stall, wondering how I was going to handle this. I can't lie to Trey, so I decided that half-truth would do. "He changed his mind and now he says he'd rather he didn't let you know."

"Oh." Trey frowns. "it's not something that could endanger us, is it?"

I guess not. Only Cody, but that wouldn't make them feel any better. "I guess not. It didn't sound urgent, anyway."

"I see, thanks Tom." Trey smiles and looks at Javier. "Javi, we're going to need this done before sunset. Can you hurry a little more?"

"Sorry Trey," Javier says breathlessly. "it's been a long day. I'll do my best."

"Do whatever you can," Trey says, kindly enough. "I don't think I need to tell you it's important." He faces me again. "I heard your helping around. Kytes is nearby so, go along."

"I got it. Hurry on, I'm sure there's a thousand places you should be at."

Trey sighs. "Don't remind me. Sometimes, I think having Meeko's ability would help me more." He walks away.

I went to look for my brother, but he found me first. "Over here, Tommy!" Kytes waves at me.

"Where's Nina?" I ask when I get closer.

"Helping Kiriho and Lexie with the kids." He answers. "that's a full time job. Lee usually helps out, but he's scouting ahead now with Max, and that's way more important."

I nod. "So what's happening?" I ask him, copying the other kids in piling rubbles just so on the carriages. "did anyone report back yet?"

"Not since they told us that the guys from the underground found that mutant sheep." He answers, reaching into the ground.

I watched his face twitch in concentration, then the plants growing around the train start to creep up steadily and engulf it. It's weird... Oh well, nothing too bad, I guess. I keep working and ignore it. I'm interrupted about a quarter of an hour later by a soft touch on my arm.

"Excuse me?" I turn to see Jonah. "do you know where Trey is?"

I shake my head. "No, sorry." I wipe my forehead with my sleeve. "before you go find him, tell me what's going on?"

"They doubled back, it should be a matter of a couple of hours before they get to this area." Jonah says, then shrugs, "But as far as I know, we're on schedule. I'll have to find Trey and tell him, though."

"Okay, don't let me keep you."

We continued working until Kytes deemed it convincing enough.

"That's good, Tommy. I don't think they'll be able to tell people had—one way or another—lived here. It looks pretty abandoned."

I move back to check, and agree. If I hadn't help create it, I would've thought the same thing. "Especially with all of those plants grown all over. I don't think they'll guess that you can actually do that." I grin at him and he laughs.

"No, I guess not. It does come in handy, huh?"

"Can't wait to see what I'll end up with." I say truthfully. "if I happen to get any powers."

"Yeah, it'd be interesting to see what you get. Maybe you'll grow wings."

We look at each other and laughed for no reason at all, just knowing that we no longer have to spend our lives separately is enough to make us happy.


	38. Part 04.4 SEAN

**::SEAN::**

"Phew." Cody slides onto the floor. "That—whatever that was—was heavy."

"Yes, even with your powers we had a much harder time lifting that generator than I anticipated. Still that was the last." Rhys squeezes his shoulder in thanks. "you two can stay here, take a breather. I'll see how other things are coming."

I sit by Cody's side. He tucks himself under my arm, and I don't mind at all. This relationship I have with him is accepted on the surface. Below—I fear otherwise. I'm supposed to be an emotionless power source. I probably wouldn't even be allowed to visit Cody—let alone touch him, even through a suit.

"I'll have to thank Rhys." Cody suddenly says.

"Why?"

"He asked our help—or my help—on purpose," Cody says, somewhat coyly. "knowing we'd finish sooner. Usually, I'm not allowed to help except with light things. Too clumsy."

"You're not clumsy." I tell him. "a little hasty, perhaps."

Cody smiles. "And you're not as mean as Thomas says. What did he tell you before?"

"Nothing much," I whisper. "that he was sorry he wasn't more understanding before and that he'd miss me."

"Really?" Cody gives me a delighted grin. "I bet the two of you could even become friends. If you stayed, that is."

I say nothing, I still don't know. And you'd think I should by now. We're running out of time.

"Oh no," Cody starts shortly, into the silence.

"What?"

"Message from Trey." Cody frowns, holding his ear. "he wants us to leave. Now."

I don't want to leave this carriage. Or make the decision that will decide the rest of my life, and Cody's too. Although I'm not letting him come with me. He doesn't see how the underground would wear him away, he's too stubborn to even think of the possibility that he might be wrong—actually, that's kind of like me when I arrived.

"We have to go." Cody says, tugging me out of the train.

Trey is going over the evacuation plan with everybody. I watched him. He's so serious, when he's dealing with the other's safety. I'm glad he doesn't know about Cody's intentions. So maybe I still have time to talk him out of it—I must, if I will leave. I can be brutal and lie and just tell him I don't want him around, that I hate him—but I don't want to do that. The last tiny bit of my machine training whispers that it's illogical, that it may hurt him momentarily but it's for his greater benefit. But all I know is that I would face ten Rabid bears before I willingly hurt Cody.

Not that I  _won't_ hurt him, either way.

"Thank you Corrin, for raising me and all."

Corrin looks at Cody, surprised. "Uh, you're welcome, Cody." he pats his head. "I mean, you've already thanked me several times before, but now... Well, it is all of the sudden."

Yes, indeed—I wondered why...

"Lori, Meeko, thank you for always looking out for me during hunts and helping my training there!" Cody hugs the twins, even as the other is placed awkwardly on his brother's back. "You guys are the best!"

They looked as confused as Corrin, responding in the same way as well. Cody continues thanking people and hugging them in random: Genesis batch, Jonah, Leon, even Bryce...

So when Trey comes in, I feel apprehensive.

"Sean, you're still in a suit." He frowned. "is that your decision?"

I hesitate. "I—uh..."

"Thanks Trey!" Cody throws his arms around Trey's waist.

Trey blinks down at him. "Uh, sure kiddo." The look of puzzlement on his face would've been comical if I didn't fear what was coming. "May I ask what for?"

"For everything. Taking care of me, being like a father I never knew." Cody pulls away, tearing up. "I'm going to miss you."

Trey raises a brow. "Miss me? But you're not—" Then he looks at me and his eyes widened in understanding. "No." He addresses at the child sternly.

"But Trey—"

"No!" Trey cuts off in furious desperation. "it's not up for argument, Cody."

Corrin comes over, "Am I missing something?" he asks peevishly. "you know there's a calmer way to—"

"Cody..." I interpose hastily, trying to avert a disaster, but I'm too late.

Cody turns to his so called mother. "I'm going back with Sean to the Underground."

"You're—" Corrin stares at him, eyes wide. "No, you're not! Not on my watch!"

I flinch as Cody had. This might be the first time he was being scolded this way.

"Cody, have you gone mad? They'll kill you!"

"They may not, Meeko..."

"You don't know for sure they won't."

Trey's tone is almost balanced, but it's got an undertone I don't like.

"You can't just leave us, Cody!" Meeko continues. "we promised to stick together, and we will. You can't just abandon us!"

Corrin kneels down and take the child's face between his. "We can't lose you, Cody. You're not leaving us, you're staying right here, understood?" He tries to speak firmly, but his bottom lip is trembling. "Please say you understand."

Cody stares at him sadly, then at Trey, his own lips trembling. This is even worse than I thought it would be.

"I don't want to leave you either, momma..."

My head aches suddenly, but I shake it off. I need to do something about this...

"But I want to go with Sean. He can't be alone," I step back as Jonah looks at me, and I think at this point he would rend me limb from limb cheerfully, if it would make Cody stay. "at least you'll have Trey and everyone else with you..."

Corrin shakes his head. "That's not the point, Cody."

"Please Corrin, Trey..." Cody looks desperate, glancing between his two—what, guardians? Parents? A total coin toss, at this point.

My heart aches. This is my fault he's being hurt like this, mine that no matter what happens, someone is going to get hurt.

"Corrin, stand aside." Trey places a hand on the healer's shoulder. "Cody, look at me."

Corrin frowns at him before doing as he was told. "Don't be too hard on him."

"I'll try. But I'll do what I must."

Cody pulls a deep breath and then obeys. The two just stare at each other for a couple of minutes. I frown, trying to work out what was going on.

"Kytes," I hear Thomas's voice from behind. "they're using telepathy, aren't they?"

Of course. I forgot about that.

"Yes," Kytes says, sounding grave.

Trey has a clenched fist, gesturing to the people around him. Cody points at Nina and clench desperately on my hand.

"What are they saying?" I ask Rhys. At least he doesn't seem as upset with me... much.

Rhys shakes his head. "I can't tell. None of us can. This is between them and them only," he shudders. "Given Cody's uncharacteristic deviance coupled with the anger radiating from Trey, I don't think I want to—"

Cody's crying now. And Trey's angry face is faltering to one of remorse and sympathy. He raises his fingers, like he's counting.

 _I'm sorry Cody,_  I think as I watch.  _But this is for the best . . . the best._  Even if it doesn't feel like the best—

Trey whirls away from Cody, then turns back to face him. Cody's face, although wet with tears, remains set, adamant. The leader crosses his arms. "Fine," he says, breaking the silence. "Stay. It's your funeral."

In the protests that follows the response, my own exclamation is unheard.

"You can't be serious!"

"He'll be killed!"

"You can't let him go!"

"You can't be serious Trey! You can't allow him—" Corrin steps up once more, so that he's standing in front of Trey, his voice is the most vocal. "Have you gone—"

Trey forestalls, "He's thought about this and he knows the dangers. He really wants to do this—we can't prevent him."

Corrin does not sound happy at all.

Nor am I—I was counting on Trey to force Cody to stay if necessary.

"You are not going Cody—" The healer grouses, turning towards Cody and crouching down his level to grasp his shoulders, "even if I have to tie you to a tree and guard you myself!" Corrin protests.

"I already thought of that," Trey says with a graved sigh. "Sooner or later, we would have to untie him, and then he'd just head back to the underground—" he turns away.

Corrin grumbles, taking Cody's hand and getting back to a straighter stance. "Fine, then I'm going with him!"

Even more protests. Trey turns back to the pair, eyes wide and I see a flicker of fire threatening to come out from his fists.

"But Corrin," Cody frowns up at the taller boy. "they need you. You're the healer."

Corrin only grips the hand tighter. "Doctor Roland will be able to cover for me, with Rhys's help, they'll be able to come up with effective medicines."

"Not as swift, though." Rhys huffs in disapproval. "and what about your sister?"

Lexie nods earnestly. "I know you love Cody, I love him, too! But I don't want to lose my brother, as well!" she cries.

"You'll be safe here, you won't be left alone." Corrin looks torn, but almost like Cody, he's made his decision. "We can't be sure Cody will be the same, though. If I'm there—"

Someone else interrupts. "Corrin, no." If possible, Trey's tone gets even dangerous. "I'm not losing you, either."

"Trey..." Corrin's resolve falters a bit but he stands his ground. "remember what I told you before? We make our own decisions?"

Trey grabs the healer's shoulder. "You can't use that on me now!"

"The hell I can't!" Corrin lets go of Cody's hand in favor of removing Trey's hand on him... Or trying to since Trey wouldn't let him go, "If you couldn't convince Cody to stay, then you can't tell me—"

This has gone far enough. "But I can," I cut them off, looking at Cody. "You are staying."

"Sean?"

Corrin and Trey stops arguing in favor of watching us. Everyone was watching.

"You are not coming with me, I will not allow it."

"D-don't you like me anymore?" Cody frowns, and my heart aches to hear the hurt in that question. "Is it because I'm being a brat now?"

"Of course I want you. But you have friends here, a life you know. You can't leave." Seeing Cody about to argue, I forestall hastily. "they won't even let you come back."

"I'll promise to wear a suit..."

"They will not waste a suit for you! They have no use for you aside from being a test subject."

"But—" Cody's voice finally cracks again, his eyes brimming with tears. "I got to go with you, Sean! I need you—"

"No, all you need is food, water, a shelter and oxygen. I am not a need, but I want you can't pursue." I murmured weakly. And yet, I believe him.

"No, please Sean, I—"

"If you come with me," I swallow thickly. "I'll—I'll hate you."

Cody's emotions finally overpower him and he drops to his knees, weeping. Trey and Corrin both kneel beside him.

"Cody, please..." Corrin embraces him.

Trey puts a hand on his back and rubs circles around it. "I'm sorry, kiddo... We really need to go."

Cody only cries harder, everyone looks sad, but they look at me, and they're angry. But I don't really care about them at the moment. I'm used to seeing the child smiling, even when he was sad, he would try to smile, to make others happy even if he really wasn't, to make me smile.

At that moment, I would do anything to make Cody smile again. And that's when I realize, for the moment, that's something only I can do. That I should be the one stopping the tears. I can't go to the underground without him anymore than he can stay here without me.

I've decided.

Corrin and Trey are not having much luck comforting Cody.

"Let me," I kneel before the two. They give me a glare, before blinking in surprise. Then, they smile, and move back. I put my arms around Cody awkwardly, but it feels... right. "Cody, stop crying."

"I can't—you're gonna leave me, and it hurts so m-much..." He chokes back a sob. "I don't want you to hate me, but I don't want you to leave without me..."

I imitate an action I often see Mitchell do for his brothers; I kiss his forehead. "I lied. I can never hate you." Cody's silent for a moment.

"You can't kiss me without your suit on, can you?"

I smile, wiping a tear off, then another, until his eyes are mostly dry. "No, Cody, I can't."

He takes a deep breath then looks up—pushing me away a little so that he can ascertain that my suit is really gone.

"But—I thought—"

"I thought I've made the right decision. Then, when I saw how I've hurt you, I knew I hadn't. Nothing is worth hurting you," I lift him off the ground. Not as hard as I imagined. He's very light and is settled perfectly, like he was meant to be there.

"Sean," He holds my cheek. "you—" he chokes back on a sob.

"I told you to stop crying!" I am most annoyed as he, again, dissolves in tears.

"I can't help it! I'm so happy!" Cody wraps his arms around my neck, his little trinket digging into my shoulder blade.

Then there's applause.

"Honestly," I hear Thomas huff. "you should've done that in the first place."

Jonah sighs. "As much as I would've love using him for target practice, I'm satisfied with the turn of events."

"Okay, now that we have things under control," Trey clap his hands. "I wanted this group moving an hour ago, everybody, move." He looks back at us with a smile. "Cody, Sean, let's go."

I drop a the child and we moved out.

**—O—**

A couple minutes later, I lost Cody somewhere in the crowd after a few minutes. I assumed he's up front with the rest of his batch, maybe with Corrin or Trey, making up for his act of rebellion. For some reasons, I'm a little offended by that. I mean, he was so desperate to have me stay, so I thought he'd spend this walk with me.

As it were, I walk along with my batch mates—minus Nina, who seemed attached to Kytes.

"So where are we going next?" The assigned Second-in-Command, Mitchell, asks our leader, Thomas.

If this was my first day up, I would loudly oppose. But now, I have no complains. He is suitable and more than qualified.

"Trey told me it's near the sea, a wrecked ship." Thomas answers. "It's farther, so this walk's going to be longer than the first one we had to make during evacuation. A good two days, three if we have to pull stops."

One of the younger brothers of Mitchell, Milo, frowns. "How will that work out? I mean, it's still dangerous, right?"

"What about these Rabid creatures, Mitchee?" Mickey asks, sounding a bit frightened. Well, for good reason.

Mitchell pats their heads. "It'll be okay... I'll protect you both."

"Well," the blond continues. "according to Trey, when we set up camp, Kytes will give us leafy beddings and there will be a turn for sentries." Thomas shrugs, "they had to do it before, and since Rabid animals, even the nocturnal types, don't hunt at night unless they're hunted at first, we should be okay."

Lindsay nods. "That's a relief." I had to agree.

And here I thought I could never find myself to agree with her. Speaking of... "I guess you were right, Lindsay." I suddenly said.

She blinks, shock. This is the first time I'm talking without any tone of disdain. "About what?" she fixes her slightly cracked glasses. She'll need a new pair.

"That I would thank you for your efforts someday."

Lindsay smiles at me. "I guess that someday was sooner than expected," She nods at me. "you're welcome, Sean."

Suddenly, Corrin comes rushing towards us. "Sean!" He gasps. "Cody... He isn't with you?"

"Huh? No, why?" I blink. "I assumed he was with you."

Corrin looked troubled.

"Well, he's probably somewhere in the crowd?" Thomas suggests. "I mean, it is a big one."

"Yeah, maybe... Maybe I'll find him when we set up cam—The pacifier!"

We all stared at him, but Thomas seems to come to a realization too.

"You lost me at pacifier." Mitchell says.

Corrin looked worried. "It's the one thing left to him when I found him as a baby," he tells us. "It could be from his parents, and it's important to him. I don't remember it being on him when we were together earlier, but if he left it behind—"

I turn around immediately and rush away at the implication. "CODY!"

"SEAN! Hey, wait a minute! We don't know for s—!" Thomas's voice was already getting fainter.

I never thought I could run this fast. Is this what they mean by an adrenaline rush, perhaps? I never had an opportunity to check.

Till now.

When I got back to the clearing just outside the train, I saw vehicles. "Please... no..." I crouch low, sneaking in.

My only hope was that Cody hasn't been caught yet. It's illogical. He wouldn't even need a pacifier in this age. I felt something under my boot, and when I looked, it was the offending object. I scowled, picking it up and ready to let out my frustrations by throwing it off. But then, I get a better look at it. It looked familiar. I mean, I was always subconsciously aware that Cody was wearing it, but I never gave it much thought or paid attention to it.

_Say momma..._

Suddenly, my head hurts and I drop the pacifier in favor of clutching my head. The throbbing was too intense for a headache, and instead of dizziness, I see images in my head. The ones from my dreams. And I hear voices, ringing in my head.

_Come on Cody, so I can show off to Luke... Say Momma..._

I see an image, a beautiful woman in my head.

"AH!"

I almost jump out of hiding.  _CODY!_ The guards found him.

"I remember you, the savage kid!"

"Did you help in our maintainer's kidnap?!"

"Let me go!"

My head hurts even more, all the while anger is fuelling my sense. I tried getting up, try to reach Cody. But the throbbing of my head only intensifies that I can't function well. This scene, those guards, a child... So familiar...

_Give him back!_

"Shut up!" One guard kicks him roughly from behind.

Cody cries again, his voice cracking due to pain and tears. "Stop it!"

_Ugh!_

_Luke!_

_Sean, why_ — _?!_

I shake my head, willing the pain to go away, Cody needs me now. He needed me to function well and...

"Stop it!" Cody cries out louder.

I stiffens, and at that moment, the throbbing stops, but the images get clearer, the voices familiar, the scenes from my recurring dreams—no, memories—vivid.

_No, no, no! Give him back, he's my baby brother, you can't separate us! Cody!_

"CODY!" I remember you! My brother! Luke... Cody... "CODY! Give him back, he's mine!" I yell, running up to them as Cody was lifted off the ground.

"SEAN!" Cody smiles, relief floods his features even as he remains in his current situation.

At this point, I wasn't sure if there was anything I can do to help but all my focus was on retrieving the warmth of that smile that I lost so long ago, the warmth I felt whenever Luke and I would argue who's turn it was to carry him back when momma was with us.

I can't lose that again.

"Hey, isn't that our maintainer?"

"Oh crap, he's contaminated. How are we going to explain this to Head Councilor Levin?"

"Figure it out later, let's get them both. At the very least, he'll appreciate more test subjects."

_More? How many has the Head Councilor been keeping?_

"AHH! PUT ME DOWN!" Cody struggles as he was being dragged to the vehicles.

 _They're separating us again... No, I won't allow it_!

Suddenly the machines veered to life and I widen my eyes. No one was driving that. In their panic, the guards scrambled away and Cody was dropped down. I screamed after him as he was about to be hit.

"NOOO!"

And as if obeying my command, the vehicles stopped.

"SEAN!" Cody runs towards me and I eagerly accept him in my embrace. "You came for me!" He buries his face on my neck.

 _How could I have forgotten him?_ I cried, holding him tightly. I carry him in my arms, like I used to do, like I did before they took him from me.

"Of course I did," I kiss the top of his head. "you're big brother's here to protect you, after all."

Cody pulls back, staring at me with wide eyes. "You... brother?"

Then there's a sound of what seems to be a gunshot. And when Cody cries out in pain before going still, it became apparent.

He's been shot.

"CODY!" I panic, kneeling down and letting his head rest on my leg. "No, no, no! Stay with me!"

I feel warm fluid pour into my hands. It's the only warmth I didn't like to feel coming from him.

"CODY, SEAN!"

"CODY!"

I hear footsteps and looked up to see Trey and Corrin running up to us, with them are Rhys, Kytes and his brother.

"Oh no, Cody!" Corrin rushes in immediately, and I let him take him, only because I knew he could take care of him. "He's hurt!" He sets to work closing the wound, even if he'll have to open it later to get the bullet or any shrapnel out.

At least Cody wouldn't lose anymore blood.

The guards laughed in all their cruelty. "Hurt? That's an understatement, he's dead."

"And you will be, too." The guards aim their guns at us. "unless you come in quietly."

I glower at them, and I am no longer able to control my anger. And I hear an irritating beeping sound from behind me.

"Er, Trey? Corrin's watch is beeping, doesn't that mean—"

I hear a series of cracking sounds and anguish cries from the guards.

"Agh! My back!"

"Ngh... What... My ankle... My chest..."

"Gah! My shoulder, what?!"

They drop their weapons. One of them didn't seem affected, but when he saw his companions complaining, he rushes away. I scowl, ready to go after him when all their vehicles corner him and ran into him in full speed.

In a sense, he was road kill.

"Ah..." Corrin falls back and into Trey's arms, "Ngh..."

Rhys frowns, "There goes another one lined up for batteries..." He shook his head and widened his eyes. "Yes!" He rushes towards one of the vehicles that still seemed intact compared to the others, since it was the outermost one in the crash.

"I don't think that's a top concern, Rhys." Trey frowns, adjusting the healer in his arms. "you idiot, be careful. You never tried breaking bones on more than one person!"

Suddenly, there are other noises. Like slithering... Only, not snakes.

"AH?! What now?"

"These things are moving on their own!"

"Wow Kytes," Thomas whistles. "nice vegetation control."

But Kytes did not seem impressed with the compliment. "Uh, Tommy? Yeaaah, I can do that, I could've but... I'm not doing  _that_  now..."

Silence as we saw the vines and roots completely wrapped around the guards. Other vines were slowly making their way towards us. But then, Rhys drove over them and come to a stop in front of us.

"If I may," The genius clears his throat, and looks uncharacteristically cocky. " _I told you so_ ," He smirks, ultimately pleased with himself.

Trey rolls his eyes, "Shut it, and let's get out of here!"

I didn't look back as we drove away from the train, nor did I look forward. Only at Cody, my brother, still unconscious in my arms, and I can only hope for the best.

**—O—**

Technopath. That's the name Rhys and I settle on for now.

My powers seemed to have manifested despite the fact that I took my suit off later than the others, which Thomas and Mitchell took great offense to. But that didn't matter now, nothing did, not Trey scolding me for running off on my own and unarmed, or Rhys discussing to me the pros of the my powers and arrangements to help me learn more about it to minimize cons.

Corrin and Doctor Roland have yet to come out of Kytes's makeshift medical tent with any news of Cody's current situation. All I can do was pace back and forth, my eyes shifting to the ground to the tent repeatedly, even as the others conversed and the scouts returned to report to Trey.

"No remains of the Underground men or their vehicles, except the one Rhys took, were found." Leon tells him with a grimace.

Jonah looked disgusted. "Unless you counted skeletons as remains. It goes without saying that, just like the hotel, we should leave the train out when deciding bases for a few years."

I continue pacing.  _Serves them right..._ I scowl.

"Dude, can you stop walking in circles?" Bryce growls at me. "you're making me dizzy."

Dillan nudges him. "Dude, shut up."

I ignore them, my mind still thinking about what had happened. The guards would deserve even worse than being plant feed if something happens to Cody. I shake my head. _No, I can't think like that..._ I can't lose Cody just when I finally remembered... _I can't—_

"SEAN!"

"Cody, wait, you still need to recover!"

I whip my head towards the tent just as I was suddenly tackled to the ground, and Cody is on top of me. I could cry in relief. I immediately wrap my arms around him.

"I was so scared!"

"Shh, I'm right here, it's going to be okay, shh..."

"Sean," Cody tries to hold himself up, but I don't want him reopening his wound. So I sat up and let him settle in my lap. "What you said earlier... Is it true? You're brother? Like Thomas is to Kytes? Like Meeko is to Lori, and Trey is to—"

I smile softly, wiping the tears off his eyes, "Yes, Cody, like all those you listed, we are that to each other, we're brothers." I cup his cheeks. "I'm so sorry for letting them take you, but now that we're together again... I am never, ever going to leave you again."

"Sean... my brother... I have a brother..." Cody wipes at his eyes before launching himself at me once more and I laugh as I fall back. "You're my brother!"

Corrin makes a disgruntled sound. "Cody, your injury, you'll open the stitches I closed..."

"Scold him later, Core, let's not rain on his parade."

"So, does Sean get to call you momma, too?"

"Thomas, do you or do you not care that you have your bones intact?"

"Don't even think about it!" I jolt, a bit astonished with an outburst that came from Rhys, of all people. "It was funny when it was just Meeko, but with all four of you and the continuous evacuations... No one is making any clones, fire, flying, or breaking bones until I've got batteries done! Am I clear?"

I think this is the first time I see Rhys reprimand anyone in a less than passive-aggressive manner.

"Yes, Rhys." The offenders chimes in stiffly.

I turn my attention back to my brother "I'm so sorry for our lost times Cody," I sigh "but I swear, I will make it up to you for all those years we were apart."

He buries his face to my neck. "You already did..."


	39. Aftermath

**TREY EVERHART, YEAR 62**

**It's only been a few days since the incident but every moment is warm and happy from then on, even though we've been traveling almost non-stop.**

**I'm happy to finally have my sister back in my life. Sure, Nina spends most of her time with Kytes, and while I pretend I'm oppose that, I'm still glad it's the blond and not anyone else. Still, not that they are official yet but if they were, they better take it slow. I don't want to be an Uncle or brother-in-law to Thomas and Kytes until I'm at least thirty.**

**Thomas is still the same cynic and sarcastic dude, but according to my sister, it wasn't as bad as it was when they were underground. I'm still trying to figure out if that was due to him being reunited to his brother, getting fresh air from the surface, or Lindsay's presence. I decided to go with all of the above to make it simple, since him still not deciding if he liked her since he's remembering his sort of puppy love for Jenny makes it complicated.**

**And Sean and Cody... Where should I even begin? Sean, a former emotionless, cold, and bitter brat is the older brother of our very own bright, cheerful and friendly Cody. Should I still be surprised by anything life brings? I wonder if there's a word that can go beyond cheerful, because that's what Cody is. And when it had been such a rare occurrence when Sean smiled before, now it's all he ever does when he's with our, as Thomas would put, little bluebird.**

**And I guess it was happy for other reasons, too**.

**Corrin's fingers tighten around mine. His hands are really soft. They haven't change as much as mine has, rough and calloused due to all the activities I did over the years and not to mention my power usage, but he said he always had and he always will love how they feel.**

**I guess I should explain how we ended up like this, too.**

**_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._**

I was stoking the fire the manual way, poking a stick to the wood and flames, add more lumber where needed since Rhys have yet to give us new batteries.

"Trey?" Corrin came up to me.

I jolted, turning towards him. "Oh Core, hey." I greeted. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, well, I guess it is, anyway..."

I frowned, he sounded unsure. I left the fire and stood in front of him. "Core?"

"I guess, I just wanted to apologize?" Corrin rubbed the back of his head. "about that time when I opposed you, because of Cody and everything."

I sighed in relief. Was that all?

"Core, no apology necessary. You guys are allowed to call me out for anything wrong I've done." I assured him. "I may have been upset at the time," like duh, why wouldn't I, just the thought of Cody leaving us was frustrating enough. But the thought of Corrin leaving... Losing him forever... I shuddered. "but I don't hold it against you." I said. "not the first time you've opposed me, either. Remember whenever I got injured and had to stay put, like a few days ago? If anything, I should apologize for not trying hard enough to get Cody to stay."

"Yeah, well, it was beyond your control so it's not your fault either...." Corrin managed a smile. "Opposing you though was all me... And we never really opposed you in front of the entire group, and during a huddle, too. I mean, it wouldn't look good for your leadership..."

I cut him off there. "Appointed leadership. Plus, Rhys just argued with me the other day." I reminded him.

"Well, now that, it was..."

I chuckled as he fumbled with his words, "Seriously Core, it's okay. And if everyone decided there needs to be a new leader one day, even if it were Bryce, if it's the majority, I wouldn't have trouble stepping down; whoever fits the role best and can keep us alive longer, he deserves to be leader."

"And you really think there's anyone else better than you for that?" Corrin questioned, shaking his head. "No, it's you Trey, only you can be our leader."

I flushed at the wording. "You give me too much credit, Core. I'm not perfect." I sighed, "I had one too many strike outs this week alone, Lori's injury, Cody's disappearance, Inhaling too much smoke, missing the tracker..." I frowned at him. "... letting you get injured..."

"Again, that was all me—well, the last part anyway. We make our own decisions, remember?" Corrin smirked, crossing his arms, and I can't help but think about how sexy that pose makes him especially with the dim light from the fire casts on him. "You have to stop those strikes things, though."

I sighed, hanging my head. "Yeah, I really do have too many strike outs already..."

"Idiot!" Corrin hits my head. "That's not what I meant, it's actually the reverse of what I meant! You should stop counting your mistakes. I mean, how about all the things you've done? Trey, you're our leader for those reasons. Not for those mistakes, cause if so, even Meeko could be leader."

"Corrin..."

"Not yet finished," Corrin cuts me off. "And even if everyone else decided you needed to step down, I'll still follow your lead. Me and everyone else in Genesis batch."

I can't stand this, I really, really want him. "Core," I stepped towards him, "is it  _only me_ who can be your leader, or can I also be your  _only_ "— _one_ —"Something else?"

"Uh, maybe?" Corrin raised a brow. He chuckled. "Whatever that  _something else_  is, anyway."

I shook my head, I'm doing this all wrong again— _ugh, fuck it with words_. I grabbed him by the waist and finally, impulsively, kissed him on the mouth.

Corrin froze, in what I hope was shock and not disgust. Then, the next thing I know, he's kissing back.

 _Goal._ "Now that..." I gasped when I finally pulled away to breathe. "... Was a home run..."

Corrin laughed breathlessly, clutching the front of my shirt, probably to support himself. I can feel him sagging against me. "What is it with you and baseball terms?" He asked. "I thought you played soccer."

"That, and baseball. I'm an athlete." I grinned, wrapping my arms around him, sneaking in another chaste kiss. "I can play with your  _balls_ , too, if you like." I said in what I hoped was a sexy, husky voice.

Corrin's cheeks turned redder than my flames. "Trey!" He smacked me on the shoulder and I just laughed.

He pouted. _Fuck, that was adorable._

"I'm not reading this wrong, right? This... This isn't just some gay inclination..."

"Corrin," I looked at him seriously. "I only figured I was gay when Lori pointed out my attraction for you. You're the only guy I ever did like. If you want me to spell it out, I will; I love you, Corrin Cole."

Corrin's cheeks glowed even redder, but his smile is the one that made his face brighter. He laughed his adorable snorting one, the one I said he does when he thinks something's really funny. Now I think it's also when he's really happy.

"And I love you, too, Trey Everhart." He placed his hand over my chest. "My heart."

"Oh god, Core," I held in my laugh. "That's as hot as it is corny."

Corrin grumbled. But he's still smiling. "Yeah, bet you can't top that, though."

"Oh yeah?" I grinned. "You're the Cole that Stokes the fire in my heart."

I think the blush is permanent. "Okay, that was—"

"And you're the Core center of my Universe..."

Corrin covered my mouth, and he's even more adorable. I should embarrass him more often. "Okay, okay! I get it, you top it."

"Of course, I'm top, you're bottom." I grinned mischievously, placing my hand over his behind, and giving a gentle, suggestive, squeeze.

Corrin squeaked, covering his mouth in shock.

"... You know I'm never gonna forget that, right?" I said seriously. "God, you make me crazy...." I sighed, before grinning again. "Like a Rabid..."

Suddenly, I'm interrupted.

"STOP FOOLING THE FUCK AROUND WITH THOSE LAME PUNS!"

"JUST KISS AGAIN!"

"THOMAS! LEXIE!"

Corrin and I jumped away from each other, screaming as we clutched our hearts. We turned our head and saw everyone who was still awake with me doing sentry duty, supposedly on their own post, watching us from afar.

"How long have you guys been there?!"

"Long enough, brother of mine."

"Speaking of which, pay up, Lex!"

"Ugh, fine."

Lexie handed Lori some strawberries.

"Don't pout, you get these for winning the other bet."

"I wanted to keep my strawberries though."

Lori still gave her some mangoes.

I made a look. "You guys were betting on us?"

"Nooo," Lexie pulled out her tongue. "We were betting on our couples getting together first  _and_  matchmaking talents. I bet on you and my brother but had to get Rhys and Meeko together by making Meeko jealous. While Lori bet on his brother and Rhys but had to help you two get together. I was counting on Trey being too busy to get around to actually confessing.... Ugh, my strawberries!"

Lori gave me a thumbs. "I won the strawberry bet; matchmaking talents, fair and square."

"Hey, give me some." Thomas took a few. "I helped."

Lori nodded, laughing. "That's true, forcing them to date was a good touch."

"Not fair after all! You had help!"

"Of his own decision."

"Give me some consolation, do you have any idea how dense Rhys is alone? Meeko hasn't even figured it out either!"

I blinked. So she didn't  like Rhys after all? And she knew Meeko was probably jealous of her and it had been intentional?

"Wow," Corrin narrowed his eyes. "And here I thought you were giving me advice in the name of friendship."

Lori laughed. "That, and strawberries."

"Congratulations Trey!" Nina hugged my arm. "I'm so happy for you. So...?"

I raised a brow. "Uh, thanks...?"

"Not that! When's the wedding?"

"Nina!"

"Dibs on best man!"

"Tom!"

**_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._**

**" _TREY_!"**

**"What? Nobody cares what we're doing!"**

**Corrin laughed helplessly, and sinks into my arms.**

**I grinned, and feel so happy I could burst.** **_Mine_** **, _all_** ** _mine..._ I thought t** **o myself.**

**It's hard to believe it. He's in love with me, too. Really in love. We're still debating who loved who longer, though. Lori knows, but he wants to see us suffer, so he doesn't tell us. Apparently, Corrin went to him to vent his frustrations, too.**

**Nights are really nice, too. Lexie, Corrin and Thomas would lead us to the campfire singing, I get to listen to my man's beautiful voice till we all have retire for the night. Corrin and I share a bedding in Genesis batch's tent. We cuddle and talk to each other in really soft voices so we don't disturb anyone and so no one overhears what we're saying. I tell him I love him again and again, but he always seems to like hearing it. I love it when he does the same. Like, I don't need to be reminded that he does, but it feels good anyway. I can't say it enough; the words almost have magic all on their own. I'm so happy inside... it's like I'm floating without leaving the ground.**

**"I'm tired, Cody," Sean told his brother, who keeps chattering on and on. He always says what he's feeling, but it's not like complaining. He's just telling him. I think it has something to do with how he was a machine, but I'm not really sure how.**

**"Okay." And just like that, Cody settled down and relaxes next to him.**

**Honestly, even if Sean had no other purpose here but to make Cody happy and settle down faster, cause even Corrin and I can't do that in one saying, I will have no** **complains. Sean's** **grateful for Corrin for keeping Cody alive when they were separated. He does anything he can to show it, and he's almost as attached to Corrin now as Cody is. I'm beginning to wonder if he does have some semblance to their mother. According to Sean, the hair length and style seemed similar.**

**Cody's still trying to get Sean to call him momma, and I kinda wanna hear that, too. If only to see his adorable, embarrassed expression.**

**_I got it bad_** **. But can you blame me? I hugged Corrin's waist.** **_He's so warm and soft. I love him._ **

**"We know~" Bryce groaned, and I realized I said it out loud. "we have eyes. And you haven't let him go since you both got together, we get it! And I thought Jonah and Leon were bad... God, have some consideration to us singles, leader!"**

**I pulled my tongue out at him.**

**"Shut up, I've been pining after him for forever, I'll be as affectionate as I want."**

**"I've been pining longer."**

**"No, you've been gay longer, I—"**

**Meeko groaned this time. "Not again...** _**LOOORE**_ **, BRO, JUST TELL THEM ALREADY!" He complained. "if not for their sakes, at least for ours!"**

**"Nope, you all got to wander about while I've been stuck bedridden. Suffer."**

**Who knew the kind-hearted Lori had it in him to be a salty, demon.**

**"Trey," Mitchell called out to me, "Will we be arriving the new base soon?"**

**I nodded as I played with Corrin's hair. I have yet to braid it, but mark my words, I will. "Uh huh."**

**Our ocean base is a big huge passenger ship. It was actually on one of the docks, floating perfectly well, when we found it. It's pretty cool, even though sometimes it's hard to get used to sleeping when the water makes everything move. We can go in the water because for some reasons, it's not as polluted by radiation, and it's kinda nice to see it with a sunset and everything.**

**Corrin hummed suddenly and takes the hand stroking his hair. "I don't know about you, but I'm happy."**

**My eyes stray over to where Thomas is eating lunch with Nina and Kytes. "Yeah," I agreed. "I think things turned out pretty well."**

**I looked a little to the side, where Sean's sitting, listening to the conversations. He's starting to feel more friendly towards everyone.**

**Mitchell is telling his brothers some stories, and the other kids are listening, too. Lindsay is giving her father a massage while he cuts some apples and mangoes for both of them.**

**Life is good.**

**The nice quiet little moment is interrupted by a yelp from me and some loud giggling from the others.** **I look up and noticed that Corrin actually managed to pin me down, like he's been trying to since we got together two days ago.**

 **He's sitting on my hips, bent low over, and he looked over and grinned at me proudly, and I can hear him in my head. //** **_Now who's topping who, big guy?_ //**

**I rolled my eyes and just wait for the kiss that I knew is coming.**

**Bryce and Meeko groaned collectively, while** **Dillan** **and Lexie smacked them to be quiet respectively.**

**I'm so happy to have them in my life though, especially Corrin.**

**That makes me think of something, almost right suddenly out of nowhere. I've got the rest of my life to be with him. It's not a few days, not a few weeks, not even a year or two. It's my whole life.  Maybe we'll start sharing a cabin like some of the couples do. We've got so many days stretching ahead of us, since the Surface is always changing, our original paths to the next base are block so we need to take a longer route. But I don't mind, I can think of a few things to do... it's amazing how much we can do.**

**And it still doesn't feel like enough. Maybe even forever wouldn't be enough. Because I want us to do everything. I want to fly to the moon and share it with him. I want to make him smile, and surprise him, and love him, and be there forever, the two of us, for the rest of everything.**

**"What are you thinking?" Corrin asked, fingers brushing over my cheek. He likes touching my face. I don't know why.**

**Maybe it's like with me and his hair. But I don't care why; it makes him happy, and it makes me happy, and everything's good.** **"Stuff," I said, then added, "about us. You know, what comes next."**

**Corrin smirked, gazing me in what I hope was fondness, that's how I look at him, anyway. "Oh yeah? And what did you have in mind?"**

**Suddenly, Rhys called out, "Time to move again." and we get up. He's the one deciding when to move for now, since I don't want to be bothered by it.**

**I'm still in Cloud nine for finally winning over Corrin.**

**It's another few days, and then I can smell the ocean.**

**"Well," Rhys said, from beside me. "We made it." There's a faint smile on his face.**

**"We sure did." Cody skipped forward a little, letting go of Sean's hand. "Big brother!" He always calls him that, every chance he gets, as if he still can't get over his hype of the revelation. "Come on, we're almost there!"**

**Sean reclaimed his hand. I don't blame him for not wanting to let Cody go for even a minute. They've been separated too long. "How can you tell?"**

**"I can smell it, can't you?"**

**Sean gave him a look, but it still looks fond.**

**"Oh right. You probably never been to an ocean before."**

**"We made pretty good time," Leon commented.**

**"It wasn't so bad," Jonah agreed.**

**They've each got an arm around each other's waist, smiling at each other, pretty much like me and Corrin were.**

**Rhys got to work in making everyone gather according to batches, only allowing Cody to stay in another batch—his brother's. Meeko helps him by getting his clones to check on all of our people, and I'll hear a complete head count from him later. Obviously, Rhys fixed his Med watch batteries first. I don't know if it was first come first serve, or another reason.**

**"Still wondering when they'll get together?"**

**I laughed, loving how Corrin knew me so well. "Well, I finally got you so what else am I going to wait for?" I smiled. "Think Meeko and Rhys really are naively gay for each other?"**

**"Well, Lori was right about us," Corrin smirked. "I think he can be right about his own brother's love life."**

**That's true. I kissed him again, for the nth time... But really, who's counting.**

**"Moving in now, Making out later," Rhys pulled me away from Corrin. "As much as I'm happy for you two, I want my leader back."**

**I knew he had a point but I was already missing Corrin's touch.**

**"Go on, Trey." Corrin laughed, "I'll still be your boyfriend at the end of the day."**

**I grinned.** **_My boyfriend... Mine..._ **

**I followed Rhys willingly now, to make Corrin more proud of me, and on my command we all push on ahead to ocean...**


End file.
